Creative Me

Last Minute Microwave Gifts

2013-12-22T20:01:00.002-06:00

Need a last minute gift? Have a microwave? With a few ingredients you may already have on hand you can make delicious candy and very happy friends.

Microwave Nut Brittle
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
2 cups nuts or seeds, whichever you like/have on hand*
1 Tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Measure out the butter and vanilla, put them nearby in a small dish. Ditto for the baking soda. It must be in it's own dish. Do it now, you won't have time to be measuring at the end.

Line a jelly roll pan with a silpat or aluminum foil. If using foil, oil the foil. Place in oven set to 200F. The warm pan will help you spread the brittle later.

Have ready a cooling rack to place the hot pan on later. Also set out a heatproof mat to place the hot bowl on.

In an 8 cup microwave safe bowl, combine corn syrup and sugar until uniformly wet. Microwave on high, uncovered, for 4 minutes.

Using an oven mitt, remove from microwave and stir in nuts/seeds. Cook 3-5 minutes longer, until pale amber. Don't walk away or it will burn. I don't know how it knows you've left the room, but it knows.

Stir in butter and vanilla. Stir until butter melts. Add baking soda and stir to combine. It will foam. Immediately pour out onto the prepared pan. Using a metal or high heat proof silicone spatula, spread the candy as thinly as you like. If you like your brittle thicker leave it thicker.

Allow to cool until room temperature, at least 1 hour. Break into pieces. I find my meat mallet handy for this. Store in a cool, dry place.

Don't try to wash the bowl until it comes to room temperature. The boiling sugar is far hotter than boiling water and you may crack your bowl. Once it comes to room temp, fill it with hot water and let it soak. The sugar will dissolve and all you'll need to do is give it a quick wash.

*Cashews, peanuts, sliced almonds, sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds are all very good. Dry roasted or heavily salted nuts are not as tasty.

When I was a kid, I used to save my nickles and dimes to buy Fanny May Mint Meltaways. Do you have a chocolate loving friend? Make them Mint Meltaways.

Microwave Mint Meltaways
12 oz. bag mint chocolate chips
1 1/2 Tablespoons plain vegetable shortening (Crisco)

Place both in a microwave safe bowl. Cook on high 45 seconds, stir. Cook another 30 seconds, stir. Continue until chocolate has melted and runs off the spoon. Pour into chocolate molds. I use a dollar store plastic ice cube tray. Chill until firm; pop out of trays. Store in the fridge, take out 30 minutes before serving. Taste one, if it's too firm for your liking, melt them down with a little more shortening and re-chill.

Gluten Free Pancake

2013-07-01T15:16:00.000-05:00

Ever notice that you really want something after being told you can't have it? I never was a fan of pancakes because I always got a tummyache after eating them. Since finding out that I'm gluten sensitive what do I crave? You got it - Pancakes!

After trying some ok and some really terrible gluten free pancakes, I found one that is wheat free, sugar free, filling, satisfying, great tasting and fast. I can have this on the table in 2 minutes. Literally.

How? The microwave! Yep, you bake this in the microwave.

The Ingredients

My BFF ground flaxseed takes center stage in this recipe. I add a little GF flour to give it a better texture, but you can leave it out. This time I used brown rice flour, other flours also work. I don't recommend soy flour, messes with the flavor.

Spray a microwaveable pie plate with non stick, add the wet ingredients and whisk.

Combine the dry ingredients in another bowl.

Add them to the wet ingredients and whisk to combine.

Sprinkle with walnuts.

Microwave 1 minute 30 seconds on high.

Enjoy with some sugar free pancake syrup.

Gluten-Free Pancake
1 serving

1 tablespoon oil
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar free vanilla syrup (OR 1 Tablespoon Splenda + 1 1/2 Tablespoons water + 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract)
1 egg white (3 tablespoons from the carton)

1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1 Tablespoon Gluten Free flour (rice, almond and coconut are all good)
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon baking powder

1 Tablespoon chopped walnuts

Spray a microwave safe pie plate with non-stick. Add the wet ingredients and whisk.
Combine the dry ingredients and whisk into the wet until well combined.
Sprinkle with walnuts.
Microwave 1 minute 30 seconds on High.
Serve right from the pie plate. (Why dirty another plate?)

Let me know if you try this.

Gluten-Free Flatbread

2013-05-13T19:44:00.000-05:00

Walt and I are trying to stay gluten-free. Umm - I am trying to stay gluten-free and Walt is along for the ride because I'm the cook. We are following South Beach Diet. I noticed that I lost weight rapidly in the first phase, which eliminates all breads and starches, but started gaining when South Beach told us to start adding whole grain. I also felt and looked bloated. Lightbulb moment. "I think I may be sensitive to gluten". However, some things just can't be eaten without some facsimile of bread. Like Pulled Pork. I was able to devise a sugar-free barbeque sauce, but you have to have it on a bun/bread/pita.

Pinterest to the rescue. I found this flatbread recipe Gluten-Free Flatbread. It called for Gluten Free All Purpose Flour. Every brand in the stores contain sugar. Back to Pinterest. I found this gluten-free flourmix. It's good, but the coconut flour gives it a slightly coconutty flavor that doesn't work with Pulled Pork. So I tried again and subbed Almond Meal for my Pulled Pork leftovers. I'll be trying another version of gluten-free flour blend using garbanzo bean flour soon. Then I'll have an assortment of blends and will be able to pick the blend for the recipe. The coconut flour version is perfect for sweets.

In using and revising this recipe, I found that 2 large eggs works better than the extra large egg plus egg white called for, and that almond meal is not as thirsty as coconut flour, so I had to decrease the liquid. I also had best results using the convection feature on my oven. I tried baking one cookie sheet lined with a Silpat and the second on parchment paper. Using a Silpat caused the flatbread to be soggy in the middle. Here's my current adaptation:

Gluten-Free Flatbread
2 cups Gluten Free Flour Blend (see below)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 large eggs
1/4 cup unflavored, unsweetened milk (cow, almond, soy)
1/4 cup water

Place oven racks and 2 lowest positions. Preheat oven to 425F and use convection if available.
Combine dry ingredients.
Add oil, eggs and milk.
Slowly add warm water. You want a soft, wet dough.
Use an ice cream scoop to portion out 6 scoops onto 2 parchment lined cookie sheets.
Use wet fingers to smooth each into thin 5" circles.
Bake 8 minutes for convection/10 minutes regular oven.
Remove from oven and flip each using a pancake turner.
Return to oven with the pan that was on the upper rack in the lower position.
Bake 8 minutes longer.
Remove to wire rack to cool.
Store at room temperature in a zip top bag.

These are flexible; you can hold the sandwiches like a taco. They are also very filling.

Gluten-Free Flour Blend
1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup GF certified oat flour
1 cup almond flour/meal
1 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tablespoon + 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

Combine in a zip top bag.

Easy 3 Bean Crockpot Chili

2013-05-11T21:13:00.000-05:00

My crockpot chili is super fast and easy because I don't pre-brown the meat. I use ground sirloin so there's no extra fat to cook off and drain. I can get this started in 15 minutes and be on my way.

Everything gets stirred together in the crockpot, cover on, set to Low and off I go.

Stirring the crushed tomatoes and tomato paste into the raw meat will allow the meat to cook without forming large clumps. I love how forgiving this recipe is - sometimes I add some diced jalapeno instead of, or in addition to, the sweet pepper, sometimes I leave out the diced tomatoes or use ground turkey instead of beef. Prefer a vegetarian chili? Leave out the meat altogether.

After everything is combined, sprinkle the cocoa powder over the top. Once your cooker heats up, the cocoa powder will melt. You can stir it in anytime after it melts. If you try to stir it in when it's still dry, it will clump. Let it cook at least 30 minutes longer after stirring in the melted cocoa powder to allow flavors to blend. You will not taste cocoa, you will taste rich silkyness.

Notice how stiff the mixture looks. It will thin out a bit once it cooks, but this is a thick chili. If it's too thick for your taste, you can add additional broth after it's finished cooking.

Easy 3 Bean Crockpot Chili

1 lb. ground sirloin

1 (14-16 oz.) can crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce

1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste

2 tablespoons dried chopped onion

1 tablespoon paprika

2 - 3 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon minced garlic OR 1/4 teaspoon dried

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 (14-16 oz.) cans chili beans

2 (14-16 oz.) cans beans, drained and rinsed (black, pinto, red, great northern)

1 (14-16 oz.) can diced tomatoes, undrained

1/2 of a sweet bell pepper, diced (any color)

1/2 cup beef broth or water

2-3 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Spray interior of crockpot with non-stick.

Add ground beef, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste and spices. Stir until smooth.

Add beans, tomatoes, bell pepper and broth; stir gently to combine.

Sprinkle cocoa powder evenly over top.

Put lid on, turn on Low and cook 5 - 8 hours. It gets better the longer it cooks.

Couponing at CVS

2013-05-07T12:59:00.002-05:00

I haven't written about couponing for a while because, frankly, there wasn't much to say. The deals were few and far between and mostly involved child related deals. We're empty nesters - so cereal, lunch snacks and diapers are not on my radar. I stocked up on razors, bath gel and shampoo, but there were no real deals - until this day.

I found a bunch of deals at CVS that I rolled as much as I could, and I still have $7 in CVS Extra Care Bucks to use next time.

Total out of pocket $13.32 (doesn't include the $7 ECB for next time, so net is $6.32 for EVERYTHING)

Here's how I did it:

First I went to my 3 favorite couponing sites. JillCataldo.com to see what she found for the week, then to CouponMom.com to see everything on sale at CVS with coupon matchups. Between those two sites, I determined what I wanted to buy. Then I went to CouponTom.com to search for any coupons they may have missed.

Then I figured out the best grouping and order to roll ECBs as much as possible. I'm a bit of a geek, so I used a spreadsheet, but you can do it on a pad of paper.

When I got to CVS, I scanned my Extra Bucks card and got coupons for $3.00 off any cosmetic purchase over $10 and $1.00 off Crest. Happy dance!

First transaction:

Dean Milk $2.99, 2 Almay eye $8.29 each, trial size shampoo $1.99

I had to throw in the shampoo to keep it from going into negative. That allowed me to use all the coupons.

Used coupons:

$10 CVS ECB from prior week, 2 Almay coupons $2.00 each, $3 off cosmetics, $ .50 off Dean milk.

Earned: $4.00 ECBs on the Almay and $1.00 ECB on the milk.

Total out of pocket $1.55! Happy Dance!

My second transaction was the toilet paper. A 12 pack of Angel Soft was sold out at $5.00, so I went with twelve double rolls of Quilted Northern Ultra Plush for $7.00. Used $5.00 ECBs earned from transaction 1. Had the Angel Soft been in stock it would have been Free after ECBs.

Total out of pocket $2.54

Third transaction:

2 Orbit gum $1.00 each, 1 Crest Pro White $2.99

Used coupons:

$1.00 off Crest

Earned me $2 ECBs for Crest and $1 ECB for Orbit

Total out of pocket $3.30

My final transaction:

1 Physicians Formula concealer $8.29

Used: $3 in ECBs from third transaction

Earned: $7.00 ECBs

Out of pocket $5.93 and earned ECB $7.00! They paid me to take this home!

Deals are out there, search for them. ;)

Gluten Free, Grain Free Pizza

2013-04-30T16:14:00.002-05:00

Walt and I are having wonderful success on South Beach. I'm down 28 lbs., Walt has lost 33! The problem is, it restricts grain, and we're bread people. Walt was missing pizza. (I could do without pizza, since I almost always had a tummy-ache afterwards). To satisfy our bread cravings, I looked for grain-free breads and found a recipe for Socca, a flatbread from France that uses garbanzo bean flour instead of wheat flour. I had my doubts, but went to Woodman's, bought some Bob's Red Mill Garbanzo Bean Flour and gave it a try.

The method is entirely different from wheat crust - no yeast (!) and it's made from a watery batter. Hint: Wipe up any spills, it dries like concrete!

Equal parts garbanzo bean flour and water plus salt, seasonings and olive oil are whisked together. It's poured into two screaming hot skillets and baked for 20 minutes. That baked crust is very different. Different can be yummy, too.

The toppings must be fully cooked before adding to the crust, because it's topped and then put under the broiler only long enough to melt the cheese. I microwave the veggies with a little water in a covered dish. My pepperoni pizza below has Pastorelli brand sauce, thinly sliced onions, red bell pepper, turkey pepperoni and reduced fat cheese.

My Margherita pizza has my own white garlic cheese sauce, grape tomatoes, fresh basil leaves and reduced fat cheese.

The white garlic sauce is very easy to make from cream cheese, minced garlic, cottage cheese and parmesan cheese. Just whizz them together in a mini food processor (or stir in a bowl).

For the Crust
makes 2 10" crusts

1 1/2 cups garbanzo bean flour
1 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon + 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning blend
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
extra olive oil for the skillets

Whisk together. Set aside while heating oven and skillets.

If your broiler is at the top of your oven, place one oven rack at the uppermost slot. Another rack should be on the middle slot. Place two 10" cast iron skillets in oven on the middle slot. Preheat oven to 450F. When oven and skillets are hot, remove and add 1 tablespoon olive oil to each skillet. Swirl to coat bottom of skillets.

Add half of batter to each skillet. Swirl to coat evenly - kinda like making a crepe. Put skillets back in oven and bake 20 minutes.

For the Toppings
While crusts are baking, slice and cook any toppings (except the cheese, natch). I microwave sliced onion until limp; sweet peppers until just tender. Pepperoni is already fully cooked, but if I make sausage pizza, I cook it thoroughly then drain very well on paper towels.

For the Red Sauce
We like canned Pastorelli pizza sauce or Sweet Baby Ray's barbeque sauce.

White Garlic Cheese Sauce
2 Tablespoons cream cheese
2 Tablespoons cottage cheese
2 Tablespoons parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon minced garlic

Whizz together in mini food processor or stir together until the cottage cheese is smooth.

Doctoring the Crust
When the crusts are done, remove from the oven and wrap a towel around the skillet handles to remind you that they're screaming hot. Turn the oven off and the broiler on High.

Spread crusts with a small amount of sauce - 2 tablespoons or less. Add pre-cooked toppings and cheese. Sprinkle with additional Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, whatever you like. I like Lawry's Seasoned Salt. Place under broiler until cheese melts. Let it brown as much as you enjoy.

Remove from broiler onto sturdy cooling racks (or your stove grates). Using a thin metal spatula, loosen crust and slide out onto a cutting board. Let rest a couple minutes before slicing.

Serve with cold beer or soda.

Unexpected Bonus 1 - NO more Pizza tummy-aches for me!

Unexpected Bonus 2 - cast iron skillets get very well seasoned!

What do you do when you have lots of leftover sauce? Using two tablespoons per pizza, the 16 oz. can of sauce goes a long way. It will go bad in the fridge before I can use it all. So I froze it in an ice cube tray from the dollar store, popped out the frozen cubes and put them in a zip top bag. On Pizza

Night, I pull out a couple of cubes and zap them in the microwave to thaw. Each cube is about 1 1/2 tablespoons sauce.

What do you put on your pizza?

Skillet Chops with Mushroom Whiskey Peppercorn Sauce

2013-04-03T21:40:00.000-05:00

I was gone a long time. Many things took up my time. Volunteering, helping my in-laws, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Eve, Valentine's Day and Easter. The best thing that took time wasn't a thing. It was a tiny, perfect human named Naomi Dawn. She is my newest grandbaby, born in February, and she has the entire family wrapped around her tiny fingers. Who wouldn't love such a happy baby?

Her older brother and sister have grown too.

I've gotten a wee bit smaller. At the New Year, my husband suggested we go without potatoes, noodles, rice or bread and see what happened. Yikes! My immediate thought was "What's left?!? This won't last a week!" So I started doing a little research and re-discovered The South Beach Diet. I say re-discovered, because several of our favorite meals are South Beach, BUT we had never followed the program.

So I borrowed several South Beach Diet books from the library and dug in. After a rough week, our starch and sugar cravings faded. Oh yes - NO sugar. Twelve weeks later I'm down 23 lbs. and my hubs is down 28. Not bad.

Here's what we had for dinner last night:

Skillet Chops with Mushroom Whiskey Peppercorn Sauce

For chops:

4 thick cut boneless pork chops

course ground black pepper

salt

1 T. EVOO

1 T. butter

Season chops with salt and pepper. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add oil and butter. Swirl to combine and coat bottom of skillet. Add chops.

Brown well on both sides, about 4 minutes per side; then lower heat, cover and cook an additional 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cover while making sauce.

For Mushroom Whiskey Peppercorn Sauce:

1 T. EVOO

1 T. butter

1 lb. mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup onion, sliced

2 -3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

1/2 tsp. peppercorns, slightly crushed (optional)

3/4 cup reduced fat, low-sodium chicken stock or broth

1/2 cup half and half

2 T. balsamic vinegar

1/3 cup whiskey (I used Seagrams VO, Jack Daniel's would also be good)

Preheat oven to 400F.

In same skillet you cooked the chops add EVOO and butter, swirl to coat skillet. Add mushrooms and onions. Cook over medium high heat until well browned (Brown = flavor), turning with a spatula every couple of minutes. It will take 10 - 15 minutes depending on the water content of the mushrooms.

Add garlic and peppercorns, stir. Add chicken stock and balsamic vinegar and stir to loosen browned bits from skillet. Add half and half, stir. Remove pan from flame and add whiskey. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until sauce thickens slightly.

Add chops and any juices to skillet. Place in preheated oven 10 minutes to finish cooking.

Test temperature for doneness. Serves 4 (6 if you're on South Beach)

Along side the chops, serve:

Summer Squash with Parm
1 T. EVOO
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1/2 medium onion, sliced
2 medium summer squash, cut in 3" strips
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup parmesan, shredded

Heat skillet over medium heat. Add EVOO when hot.
Add garlic and onions, stir to coat. Cook until onions wilt.
Add squash.
Cover and cook 3-4 minutes, turning gently several times.
Add broth, cover and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.
Serve with 1 T. parmesan cheese

Serves 4

Stay tuned and find out how I make pizza without wheat flour. Gluten Free!

Crispy Smashed Potatoes

2012-09-24T13:01:00.000-05:00

I've taken to making these instead of fries.

This recipe is so easy and so yummy! Faster, easier and crispier! No measuring, peeling or slicing! Healthier than deep frying!

Choose small new potatoes - the bag will say size B. Make the "ok" sign with your finger and thumb - about that size. I like to pick out my own potatoes from the bulk bins. Yukon Gold or white skinned potatoes give a fluffy interior like french fries. I imagine red potatoes would also be good, but their waxy texture would mean the end potato will be heavier.

Scrub and cover with cool water, and boil until tender, about 20 minutes. Starting potatoes in cool water results in a tender potato. Starting them in boiling water would seem to make sense, but the hot water will cause the starch on the outer part of the potato to solidify, preventing the interior from becoming tender.

While they boil, preheat your oven 425F, line a jellyroll pan (cookie sheet with sides) with foil and oil it. Drain the potatoes, put them back into the hot pot and let the extra moisture steam away. Shake the pan once or twice. When they have stopped steaming, put them onto the jellyroll pan. Dry potatoes will be crispier.

Take a pancake turner and gently press down until the skins split and the potatoes are smashed. Do it gently or they will fly across the room. I tell you this, because it happened to me. I rinsed it off, dried it, and continued. Please don't say "Ewww" - remember, they grow in dirt.

Drizzle with EVOO, sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pop them into the hot oven.

Let roast 15 minutes. In the photo above, I thought it would be awesome to add some fresh garlic. It kinda burned, so I would hold off on the garlic until the second roast.

When the first 15 minutes are up, flip them with a pancake turner and if you are daring, top each with a bit of fresh garlic. Drizzle again with EVOO, sprinkle with kosher salt and fresh pepper. Then back into the oven for 15 minutes.

So very ugly, and so very delicious!

Solving a Stinky Problem

2012-09-20T15:30:00.000-05:00

Have you ever forgotten about that last load of laundry and opened your washer to a big stinky mess? Or for no good reason, your front loader washer stinks to the heavens? Here's how to de-stink on the cheap.

Dollar Store!

Rewash the load, adding 1 cup each of hydrogen peroxide and rubbing alcohol to the normal amount of detergent. Use the longest cycle and warmest water appropriate for the clothes. Dry as normal.

If it's just the washer that stinks, wash a load of whites and use bleach, detergent and hot water. If still stinky, wash again adding detergent, hydrogen peroxide and rubbing alcohol.

To keep the stink away, wash at least one load of whites with bleach each week and keep the washer lid/door open slightly.

To help get white clothes white again, try soaking overnight in plain cold water. It's not an instant fix, but I see improvement with every wash. I keep a 5 gallon utility pail in my laundry room for just that purpose. The next day, dump into the washer, drain it (usually you can choose rinse and spin; my front loader automatically drains extra water before beginning the wash cycle) and then add detergent and bleach and wash in hot water. Works better for me than OxyClean. Be careful about that bucket if you have little ones!

Gluten-Free Crockpot Stuffed Peppers

2012-09-18T14:30:00.001-05:00

This past month has been a hodge-podge of last minute meals. Time to get back to menu planning. I like to plan menus around what's growing in the garden, sales and coupons. I also plan to use up leftovers and knowing what's for dinner avoids that last minute scramble to get something, anything on the table.

This Week's Menus

Swedish Meatballs (Ikea), boiled potatoes, cinnamon honey carrots
Pork Loin Roast, baked sweet potatoes, corn
Stuffed Peppers in the Crockpot, mashed potatoes
Crockpot Greek Lemon Chicken, rice, home canned green beans
Pulled Pork sandwiches from leftover pork roast, cole slaw, 3 bean salad

I got the pork loin roast on a buy-one-get-one-free sale and the ground sirloin was free with a coupon when I bought both hamburger buns and beans. LOVE those kind of deals!

Stuffed Peppers in the Crockpot with OAMC* option
Serves 4 - 8

4 bell peppers
1 lb. ground sirloin
1 cup cold cooked rice
3 tablespoons dried minced onion (or 1 cup very finely minced fresh onion)
2 garlic cloves, grated on the microplane
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons gluten-free quick oats
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 (26 oz.) jar traditional style pasta sauce (not marinara - it will get watery)

Spray interior of crockpot with non-stick. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta sauce and pour remaining sauce into crockpot.

Cut tops off peppers. Discard stems, keep tops and mince. Discard seeds. Check to see if pepper will stand upright. If it won't, trim the base without cutting through to center, so it will stand upright.

In a large bowl, combine beef, cooked rice, pepper tops, onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, egg, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper and 1/2 cup of the pasta sauce. Mix well.

Fill each pepper with meat mixture, pressing firmly, mounding it on top. *Prepare to this point for OAMC; tightly wrap individually in plastic, place in ziptop bag and freeze. Unwrap frozen and thaw upright before proceeding.

Place peppers into crockpot. Spoon some of the sauce onto each.

Cook on Low 6 - 8 hours or on High 4 - 6 hours. Test temperature for doneness at minimum time.

Leftovers reheat well in microwave.

*Once A Month Cooking

Cleaning the Stove - part 2

2012-09-17T20:08:00.000-05:00

In an earlier post, I shared how I clean my stove top with oven cleaner. The grates and burners get nasty with burned on grease too. Here's how I clean them in my self-cleaning oven.

In a previous home, I had pale grey stove grates and burner covers. No matter how much I soaked or scrubbed, that burned on grease and food wouldn't come off. They were so nasty looking I was going to buy new ones. One day I was setting the oven to Clean and and grumbled to myself that the part of the stove everyone could see should be at least as easy to clean as the oven. I figured, "Why not? What's the worst that could happen? If they're ruined, I was planning on buying new ones anyway..."

Place dirty grates and burners on oven racks. Make sure they aren't touching. (I don't know if it truly matters, but that's how I do it).

Close the oven, remove combustibles (dish towels) that you may have hanging on the oven handle. Set it to Clean. If you have the option, set it to a 2 hour cycle.

The next morning, after everything has cooled. Remove the grates and burners.

See those grey spots? That's ash where stubborn, burned on grease and food used to be.

These burner tops were spattered too. Now just rinse and towel dry.

It's the smarter, easier way to clean.

Making Pickles

2012-09-04T16:35:00.000-05:00

Did you know that fresh cucumbers have spines, like cactus? They do, and they're sharp! Supermarket cucumbers are already scrubbed free of spines, because they can damage other cucumbers during shipping. I manage to get at least one spine lodged in my palm during every pickle session.

Spines rub right off with a scrubby and cold water. My pink scrubby is from the dollar store and does a great job. After I scrub each cucumber, I run my fingers over it to find any spines that may have been missed. Then they go into a colander, so I don't keep grabbing the same one over and over.

After their bath, it's time to weigh to see how much brine to make. Most brine recipes will make twice as much brine as needed. Don't know why - just an observation. I often will cut a brine recipe in half. If cucumbers are growing like crazy in my garden, I know I'll be making more pickles in the next few days and then I'll make the full batch of brine and store leftovers in my fridge.

Time to cut off both ends. The blossom end contains an enzyme that can make pickles soft and the stem end contains an inedible stem. So, off they go.

Notice the pencil marks on my cutting board? A 4" cucumber spear will fit perfectly in a pint jar. The marks show me where to trim.

Cut them in half lengthwise, then into 4 or 6 spears, depending on how fat the cucumber is.

Three pounds, 10 ounces of trimmed and sliced spears. See the rounds on the left?

And the trimmings on the left? Salad. If I have enough, I'll make a jar of Pickle Chunks.

I just removed this jar from a pot of boiling water. As you lift out the jars, pour the water from some of them into another pot with lids and rings in it. Always prepare 2 more jars than you think you'll use and 2 LESS lids than you think you'll use. Have them at hand, but don't heat until you've filled all the jars and KNOW you will use them. Unused jars can be put back on the shelf for next time, but once lids have been heated they must be used or tossed.

Seasonings that were not in the brine go into the bottom of the hot jar. These will be Garlic Dills, so I've added a peeled, raw garlic clove, a small dried bay leaf and some mustard seeds to the jar.

Grab a big handful of spears and drop them into the hot jar. Pack a few more, one at a time, into any empty spaces. You want them wedged firmly into the jar.

Ball Pickle Crisp is added. This stuff is amazing. Nice crisp pickles every time.

This is my First Genius Idea: I make my brine in a stainless steel teapot that I don't use for anything else. It is so much easier and tidier to pour the in the brine rather than ladling it.

Second Genius Idea: I pour the boiling brine through a fine mesh strainer, because I don't care for the feeling of dill weed in my mouth when I eat pickles.

Use a plastic knife to "bubble" the jar. With brine in the jar, it's easier than you'd think to slide in the plastic knife. Wiggle it gently between the jar sides and the pickles. You'll be surprised how many bubbles come up. The brine will sink down as the bubbles come up. Top it off with more brine. Cucumbers should be completely covered by brine. Each recipe will tell you how much empty space to leave.

Wipe the jar rim with a clean damp cloth. The sealing compound on the lids will not adhere if there is anything on the jar rim.

Use a magnetic tool to lift the lids and rings out of the hot, not boiling, water. The hot water softens the sealing compound a bit so it adheres better.

I like to grab them both at the same time.

And use the tool to slide both onto the jar. Screw only until resistance is met - finger tight. Screwing them too tightly won't let the air in the jar escape and either the lid will buckle and the pickles will be ruined, or the jar will break and the pickles will be ruined.

Lower the jars into the boiling water onto the rack. The rack is necessary to a) lift the jars off of the pot so they don't roll around and break and b) allow boiling water to completely surround the jars. The boiling water must be at least 1" over the top of the jars. I have an electric kettle full of hot water that I use to top off the pot if needed.

The water will stop boiling as you put the jars in. Start timing the recipe after it returns to a boil. Air will be escaping from the jars, which is good, but don't mistake that for boiling. Look to see that the bubbles are coming from the bottom of the pot.

When the time is up, turn off the heat and lift the jars without tilting to a heatproof surface. The sealing compound is still soft. You could dislodge the lid and allow seepage. If some seeps out, your seal will be ruined, and your pickles will have to be refrigerated and used quickly, which defeats the purpose of canning - to make them shelf stable (won't go bad at room temperature).

Cover jars with a kitchen towel and leave undisturbed until completely cool. Test each jar by pressing down with one finger in the center of the lid. If it moves up and down and makes a clicking sound, the seal is bad. Refrigerate and use within a couple weeks.

Label the jars and include what's inside and the date. It's surprisingly easy to forget what is in each jar (dill pickles? sweet pickles?).

Cleaning the Stove

2012-09-01T18:30:00.000-05:00

I have a secret weapon to clean my stovetop: Easy-Off Oven Cleaner*. Spray it on; let it sit for a few minutes until it looks like this:

Then I just wipe that crud off with a paper towel.

All those little burned-on spatters and the stuff that gets under the burner just wipe right off. I have no clue as to how it gets under there. It seems to defy the law of gravity by moving under a solid object. Back to topic.

After I get the melted crud wiped off, I switch to a dishcloth and LOTS of water. Fill your sink with warm water. Wipe, rinse the cloth, wipe, rinse. Keep going until all the Easy-Off is, well, off. If you find any stubborn bits, use a green scrubby. Now you have a shiny clean stovetop:

Nice!

There's a quick way to clean the burned-on spatter off of your grates and burners too: The self clean cycle on your oven. Leave the oven racks in there and place your stove burners and grates on the oven racks. Set it to self clean. When the cycle is done and the oven has cooled, your grates and burners will have a fine coating of grey ash. Rinse in your sink, dry and replace.

*Disclaimer. This use is totally off-label. Try it on a tiny section first. I wouldn't use for anything other than a gas burning, porcelain stove top. Other stove surfaces have their own particular cleaners - use them.

Mock Ovgo-Lemono (Greek Lemon Chicken Rice Soup)

2012-08-31T20:26:00.000-05:00

When I moved from the city of Chicago to the far northwest suburbs there were many things I was happy to leave behind: traffic, lack of parking, dirt, lack of nature. One of the things I still miss, decades later are the wonderful Greek restaurants. You can occasionally find one or two Greek items on the menu out here, but I miss those little mom-and-pop places with the amazing food. One of our family favorites is Ovgo-Lemono, a thick, creamy egg chicken lemon rice soup.

I really missed it. The authentic way to make it involves raw chicken, cooked rice and many egg yolks. So I figured out how to make a knockoff that's foolproof, easy and pretty close to the taste and textures of the real deal.

Just three ingredients (four, if I ever remember to add oregano), one pot, less than 10 minutes.

Dump undiluted Cream of Chicken and Chicken with Rice soups (and a pinch of oregano) in a saucepan and whisk to combine.

Heat to a simmer and add lemon juice from a bottle. Stir. Serve. Yum.

Greek Lemon Rice Soup

Gluten-Free Crock Pot Vegetarian Enchiladas AND Dessert Enchiladas

2012-08-19T22:08:00.000-05:00

Vegetarian Enchiladas

Dessert Enchiladas

I saw a wonderful sounding recipe for enchiladas you can make in your crock pot. It needed a little tweaking to make it work for me. Oh boy! They were delicious! My darling husband said "Mmm. Wow. Make them again." Here's what I did:

Spray the inside of your crock pot with non-stick. Pour 1 cup of chunky salsa in the crock pot. Chop some red and green sweet bell peppers and half an onion, grate 8 oz. of Monterey Jack cheese and measure out some salt, cumin and garlic powder. Rinse and drain a can of black beans and pour into a medium bowl. Add the veggies and spices and stir until combined.

Scoop 1/3 cup onto one side of a flour tortilla and add 1 tablespoon of cheese; roll up and place seam down in the crock pot. Roll and add until you have 5 or 6 side by side in the bottom of the crock.

Pour 1 cup of salsa over them, and spread with a spoon. Sprinkle half of the cheese evenly over the salsa.

Fill and roll tortillas until filling is gone. Pour the rest of the salsa over the top and spread so all the tortillas are moistened with the salsa. Don't add the rest of the cheese yet.

Cover, turn to High and cook 2 - 3 hours or until heated through.

Sprinkle with the remaining cheese, cover and let sit until the cheese melts.

Crock Pot Vegetarian Enchiladas

Adapted from recipe found at thekitchn.com

Serves 4 - 6, 2 enchiladas per serving

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1 cup chopped sweet bell pepper

1 (16 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained

2 teaspoons chili powder

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups (8 oz.) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

32 oz. chunky salsa

10 - 12 8" flour tortillas, I use gluten-free corn tortillas

Spray inside of crock with non-stick.

Pour in 1 cup of salsa.

Combine onion, bell pepper, beans and spices.

Scoop 1/3 cup onto a flour tortilla. Add 1 tablespoon cheese. Roll up and place seam side down in crock.

Continue filling and rolling until you have a layer of enchiladas snugly side-by-side.

Pour half of the salsa over and spread to moisten the tortillas.

Sprinkle with half the cheese.

Repeat filling and rolling until filling is gone.

Pour remaining salsa over the enchiladas and spread to moisten. Don't add remaining cheese yet.

Cover and cook on High 2-3 hours or until filling is hot.

Sprinkle with remaining cheese, recover and let stand until cheese melts.

Make Salsa Rice. Recipe link: http://www.food.com/recipe/salsa-rice-97070

Serve with Salsa Rice and corn. Corn completes the protein of the beans.

Dessert Enchiladas

When you have a pack of 12 tortillas and the dinner recipe only uses 10 of them, then make Dessert Enchiladas in your microwave.

Spread a teaspoon or so of peanut butter on one side of a flour tortilla. Head's up: corn tortillas don't taste as good.

Add a tablespoon of chocolate chips.

And some mini marshmallows. Roll up, microwave 45 seconds until the marshmallows are gooey.

Walt got the green plate, I got the pink plate. Oh, yum. Peanut butter cup meets s'more.

Roasted Garden Vegetables with Spaghetti Squash (Gluten-Free)

2012-07-31T20:31:00.000-05:00

Spaghetti squash, eggplant, yellow squash, tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers.

When one day's harvest is as bountiful as this, I have to get as many as I can in one meal, because I simply need to eat them all. Seriously. They call to me. Here's what I came up with, it's simple, incredibly low calorie - only 231 for a very generous entree serving, and bursting with flavor.

Eggplant, yellow squash, plum tomatoes, red bell pepper, onion and garlic were cut up and went into a bowl. A drizzle of olive oil and some salt and pepper were stirred through.

Then onto a jelly roll pan that I had coated with spray oil. I slid it into a very hot (425F) oven and left it to roast for 20 minutes while I dealt with the spaghetti squash.

Scrubbed, halved vertically and seeded, I placed them cut side down and added 1/4 cup of water, covered tightly and microwaved on High for 10 minutes. When they were tender, I drained them well and returned them to the microwave and set it to Keep Warm. My spaghetti squash were home grown and small, so I used two and cooked them in batches.

Meanwhile, the time was up on the veggies. I gave them a stir and returned them to the oven for another 10 minutes. I love those browned bits. Brown = flavor :) Then I dumped a jar of pasta sauce in a large pot and set it to heat to a simmer. I used Prego Garden Chunky with Baby Portabella. (Got it on sale, natch). The browned, softened veggies were gently stirred into the pasta sauce. Then the plating began.

I scraped the spaghetti squash into serving bowls with a fork.

Added the sauce and veggies combination.

And sprinkled with grated parmesan.

This is so full of flavor from the roasted vegetables that it is completely satisfying. Happy-Dance-in-the-Chair good. I had planned on serving bread and butter with it and totally forgot. Didn't matter. Walt was so happy with the healthy-ness of it that he went out and bought some ice cream. Because we had bananas to use up. I didn't feel quite so guilty eating ice cream after this meal.

Cooking from my garden makes many meals very inexpensive. For this meal I only had to buy oil, salt, pepper, garlic, onion, pasta sauce and cheese, all of which I already had in the pantry. The spaghetti squash, eggplant, yellow squash, bell pepper, and tomatoes came from the garden = almost free.

Here is a link to the printable recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/roasted-garden-vegetables-with-spaghetti-squash-484654

And here is the recipe:

Roasted Garden Vegetables with Spaghetti Squash
1 (2 1/2 - 3 lb.) spaghetti squash, halved and seeded
1 small eggplant, peeled and cut into 1" pieces
2 yellow squash (or zucchini or one of each), cut into 1/4" slices
2 roma tomatoes, cut into 1/2" pieces
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1/2" pieces
1 cup onion, cut into 1/2" pieces
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 (24 ounce) jar pasta sauce
6 teaspoons grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425F.
Toss all vegetables, except spaghetti squash with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Spray an 11x17" pan with nonstick and add vegetables in a single layer. Use 2 pans if needed.
Place into hot oven and roast 20 minutes.
Stir and roast 10 minutes longer.
Place halved and seeded spaghetti squash cut side down in a microwavable dish, add 1/4 cup water, cover and cook on High 10 minutes or until tender. If your microwave doesn't have a turntable, turn it often. You may need to cook it in batches, but that's fine.
When the spaghetti squash is tender, drain well and keep warm until vegetables are done.
Heat pasta sauce in a large pot to a simmer.
When vegetables are roasted, add them to the pasta sauce and stir gently to coat.
Holding the spaghetti squash half in a pot holder or oven mitt, gently scrape the strands with a fork onto 6 serving dishes.
Top each dish with vegetables and sauce; sprinkle with parmesan.

Monday, Menu-day

2012-04-30T21:14:00.000-05:00

Monday again. We have a few dinners out this week. It makes menu planning easier.

I found vacuum packed mushroom ravioli at Aldi. It got me thinking about a dish I used to get at Millennium, a now closed, but fondly remembered restaurant. Tonight I boiled the ravioli and created a Creamy Baby Bella Sauce. While the dried ravioli is not nearly as luscious as the hand filled wild mushroom ravioli at Millennium; this sauce is very good:

Creamy Baby Bella Sauce
8 ounces cremini (baby portabella) mushrooms
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon butter
1 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon flour
1 1/2 cups milk
pinch salt

Wash mushrooms under running water*and tumble onto a clean kitchen towel as each one is cleaned. Snap off stems and discard. They are edible, but too fibrous to enjoy. Pat caps dry with towel. Slice 1/4" thick.

Heat a pan over medium flame. Add oil and butter. Swirl to combine.
Add the mushrooms and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally until mushrooms are tender.

Sprinkle with flour and stir to wet the flour with the oil. Cook and stir 2 minutes to cook the flour.

Add about half of the milk. Stir and cook until it starts to thicken, stir in remaining milk. Cook and stir until it bubbles and thickens. Stir in a pinch of salt and serve.

Why 2 additions? If we add all the milk at once it would take a long time for it to come up to a boil and it would thicken oddly. The flour could become grainy, or worse, lumpy in all that liquid. Adding it in batches helps create a silky smooth sauce. There is probably some food chemistry related reason. I just know it works.

* FOOD MYTH: Washing mushrooms causes them them to soak up water and become rubbery. FALSE! Don't believe me? Ask Alton Brown. He did an episode of Good Eats where he weighed several piles of mushrooms then cleaned them by various methods and re-weighed them afterwards. Neither rinsing under running water or soaking in water 5 minutes caused any measurable weight gain. So wash your mushrooms and avoid grit in your sauce.

This Weeks Menus

Monday Mushroom Ravioli with Creamy Baby Bella Sauce and Roasted Broccoli

Tuesday Just Like Thanksgiving Turkey Meatloaf, Mashies, Veg
Note to self: make extra mashies for Wednesday
This is a new-to-me recipe found at TasteofHome.com. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Wednesday Shepherd's Pie
This uses up leftover mashies from Tuesday and leftover beef tips which I made last week when it was too cold to grill Walt's 'birthday' steaks.

Thursday Dinner out
Meet the parents. Our son is newly engaged and we get to meet her parents. She's such a sweetheart that I'm sure we'll love them.

Friday Walt is attending a men's event at church - so I'll be free to eat what I like...

Saturday Dinner with friends

Sunday Omaha Steaks on the grill, Saddleback Potatoes
Second attempt! Last week it was too cold to grill those steaks Walt got with a birthday gift card. We've never indulged in Omaha Steaks before, so we're excited to try them. The anticipation is killing us...

Gluten Free Cranberry Chicken and a Couple Kitchen Hints

2012-04-19T17:13:00.000-05:00

3 Ingredient Cranberry Chicken

This recipe is so easy and so yummy. Best of all, it uses ingredients you probably already have in your pantry.

3 Ingredient Cranberry Chicken

4 - 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 (14 oz.) can cranberry sauce

1 (1 oz.) envelope dry onion soup mix, check label for gluten

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray the inside of a baking dish with non-stick. Use the size that fits your quantity of chicken just right. 13x9" for 6, 8x8" for 4 breasts. You don't want the sauce to burn, which it will if the dish is too big.

Put chicken breasts in a single layer in dish.

Combine cranberry sauce and onion soup mix; pour over chicken.

Cover and put in oven. Bake 25 minutes, remove cover and bake an additional 10-15 minutes or until the temperature in the center is 160F (stick it in horizontally). Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Good served with rice to soak up all that yummy sauce. We had potatoes that looked like tennis balls. My food styling could use a little help. Next time, I'll remember to cut open the potato and add butter before taking the picture.

Click for printable recipe for 3 Ingredient Cranberry Chicken

A Couple of Kitchen Hints

Remove seeds with a gravy ladle or ice cream scoop

One scoop and almost all the seeds are out.

Contain messes by putting your cutting board in a rimmed baking sheet

The cutting board in a baking sheet hint will come in very handy come summer. Think watermelon, tomatoes and other juicy fruits. No more juice running across the counter and dripping onto the floor! I use it every time I can tomatoes.

This Week's Menus

2012-04-17T21:48:00.000-05:00

I tend to scribble my weekly menu on a sheet of paper. This can be annoying when I go shopping and forget a key ingredient. So I've started noting menus on my shopping list. But then I get home from the grocery store and toss the shopping list in the trash. At the end of the week, I'm scratching my head and wondering WHY I bought cottage cheese. Maybe this will help.

Monday - 3 Ingredient Cranberry Chicken, rice, roasted broccoli
Tuesday - Warm Leftover Steak Strips on tossed salad, homemade bread
Wednesday - Pastitsio Pie, salad, carrots
Thursday - leftover Cranberry Chicken
Friday - Roast Pork Tenderloin, sweet potatoes, green beans
Heads up: Jewel has Hormel pork tenderloin BOGO through Thursday this week.
Saturday - leftover Pastitsio
Sunday - Beef tenderloin steaks on the grill, saddleback potatoes, carrots
Bought with an Omaha Steaks gift certificate that was a very welcome birthday gift to Walt! I see another yummy leftover steak salad possibility for later in the week.
Monday - 3 Ingredient Pulled Pork in the Crockpot, Asian Coleslaw
Yep - another leftover night!

What's cooking in Your Kitchen?

Two Bean Tamale Pie (Gluten Free, Vegetarian)

2012-04-14T20:26:00.000-05:00

Two Bean Tamale Pie

This is a regular on the rotation here as we try to eat vegetarian at least once a week. It's very quick to put together. A one pot meal that feeds the two of us very generously twice - that means I only have to reheat one night :). The flavors and textures are true comfort food. It's moist, but not saucy. If you like your casseroles saucy, add another can of V-8.

I found this recipe years ago but don't know where I found it. I made a few changes until I really liked it.

Preheat your oven to 400F and spray a 2 quart casserole with non-stick. Saute 1 cup chopped sweet bell pepper, 1/2 cup onion and 2 cloves of minced garlic in 1 tablespoon oil. Add 2 cans of rinsed, drained beans - I use black and great northern, but you can use whatever you have on hand. Add a 6 ounce can of Spicy V-8 - feel free to swap out with regular V-8 if you're not into spicy. No V-8? Use a 8 oz. can of tomato sauce and a pinch of ground red pepper. Stir in 1/2 tsp. of ground cumin and 1 tsp. Mexican style chili powder (I once bought Indian chili powder by mistake - ouch!) .

Heat it all through, then pour into the casserole you've sprayed.

Mix up a box of Jiffy corn bread* with egg and milk listed on the box; then fold in 1/2 cup shredded colby-jack cheese and 4 tsp. dried cilantro. Have fresh? Use 1/4 cup finely chopped. Don't like cilantro? Use parsley or leave out if your kids don't like little green flecks in their food.

Spread the batter over the beans and make sure it touches the side of the casserole all around. Bake at 400F 20 - 25 minutes, until golden. Let sit 10 minutes before serving.

Add a salad or fresh fruit and dinner is on the table.
*Jiffy has gluten. I use a gluten-free mix made by Bob's Red Mill. Just get one that makes an 8" pan.

Printable recipe with photo

New Favorite Bread Machine Recipe

2012-04-11T20:36:00.000-05:00

This recipe makes 2 loaves of a moist, richly flavored, very high rising bread with a soft texture. I adapted a recipe found at food.com to better fit my tastes (read that as richer and moister). The recipe calls it Challah. Trust me - it's not challah. But it has a very pleasant faintly eggy flavor.

I like to prepare the dough in my bread machine, then form it into loaves, let it rise again and bake it in the oven. This recipe originally called for it to be baked in the machine, thereby making one large loaf. I found that it overflowed the pan when baked in the bread machine. I solved that by forming into 2 loaves and baking in my oven. I also like the texture and flavor better. I think that bread baked in the bread machine has a slight steamed flavor. It may just be my machine, or it may just be me. Try it either way.

Bread Machine Challah
3/4 cup warm water
1 egg, at room temperature
2 egg yolks, at room temperature
3 tablespoons butter, cut into pats
3 cups bread flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons bread machine yeast

Add ingredients to your bread machine in order suggested by the manufacturer. If you can't find them, place wet ingredients in machine: water, egg, egg yolks and butter.
In a bowl, combine dry ingredients: flour, sugar, salt and yeast. Stir to combine.
Add to machine on top of wet ingredients; don't stir. Set the machine to dough cycle, 2 lb. loaf and start the machine.
Peek inside to be sure the blade is moving the ingredients about. Set a timer for 5 minutes.
When the timer goes off, use a spatula to scrape in any flour that isn't mixed into the dough. It will not look like dough. It should look too wet, but not soupy. If it looks soupy, add up to 2 tablespoons additional flour. If the dough looks a little dry (very firm ball of dough wrapped around the dough blade) add additional water - up to 2 tablespoons.
Don't agonize over it, neither will kill the bread. Not enough flour and the bread will be flat and dense. Too much flour and it will be dry and tough. Either way it's edible. Remember that's what bread pudding, bread crumbs and french toast are for. Keep making bread and within 3 or 4 runs you will figure out how it's supposed to look when it first is mixed. Then it's easy-peasy from then on out.
It should take somewhere around and hour and 30 minutes to 2 hours before the dough is ready - so take note of when you need to be home and be SURE to be there.
Spray 2 loaf pans with cooking oil. Spray 2 pieces of plastic wrap with oil and set aside.
When the machine sounds it's end of cycle beep, beep, beep - flour your clean dry counter top and dump out the dough. Fish out the paddle and put it aside to wash. Remove your rings to a safe place and flour your hands. Pat out air bubbles in the dough. and form it into a flat rough rectangle. Being mindful of your counter top, cut the dough into two equal pieces. Roll one piece like a jelly roll starting at a short side. Pinch the ends and tuck them under; place seam side down in pan. Repeat with the other piece of dough.
Cover each pan with a piece of prepared plastic wrap and set in warm spot to rise. Allow to rise until it is about 1" above the top of the pan, about 45 minutes. After 30 minutes, start preheating your oven to 350F, so it's ready when the dough is ready.
Remove plastic wrap and place into preheated oven. Bake 30 - 40 minutes or until tops are browned and loaves sound hollow when you knock on them.
Turn out onto a wire rack and allow to come to room temperature before slicing. I slice one loaf and place it into a gallon size zip top bag and store it at room temperature. The second loaf is also cooled to room temperature, then placed, unsliced in a zip top bag and frozen until needed.

Gluten-Free Warm Roasted Chicken Salad with Brown Rice Pasta

2012-04-09T20:53:00.000-05:00

Tonight I Cleared Out the Fridge for Dinner

We had some veggies that were beginning to look a little "aged" so I roasted them with chicken breast and made this very satisfying Warm Roasted Chicken Salad with Whole Wheat Penne. It's my adaptation of Dr. Oz's Warm Chicken-Orzo Salad recipe and very healthy.

Warm Roasted Chicken Salad with Whole Wheat Penne

I managed to improve on Dr. Oz's nutritional counts by eliminating the goat cheese and swapping the orzo for whole wheat pasta, lowering the Total calories to 360 per serving (Dr. Oz's: 420), total carbs to 36.7g (Dr. Oz's: 41g), fat to 10.5g (Dr. Oz's: 14g), total cholesterol to 72.6mg (Dr. Oz's: 79mg). He did better on sodium, because I salt my pasta water. Leave it out and reduce the sodium to 325 mg.

Warm Roasted Chicken Salad with Brown Rice Penne

Adapted from Dr. Oz’s Warm Chicken-Orzo Salad

4 Servings

30 minutes

1 pint grape tomatoes, rinsed

1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into ½” chunks

4 ribs celery, cut into sticks, then ½” pieces

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided use

¼ teaspoon dried oregano, divided use

1 teaspoon salt, divided use

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon lemon pepper

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed

1 ½ cups brown rice penne pasta

2 tablespoons bottled lemon juice

Preheat oven to 450F.

Heat water to cook pasta.

On one side of an 18x12” jelly roll pan, toss vegetables with garlic, 1 tablespoon oil, and 1/8 teaspoon each oregano, black pepper and salt. Spread in an even layer.

Cut chicken breasts in half like a book, making 2 cutlets of each; then cut into 1” chunks.

On the other side of the same jelly roll pan, toss chicken with 1 tablespoon oil and 1/8 teaspoon each lemon pepper, oregano and salt. Spread in an even layer.

Roast 15 minutes or until chicken is done (160F).

When pasta water comes to a boil, add ½ teaspoon salt and cook pasta following label directions while chicken and vegetables roast. Drain and put into a heatproof bowl large enough to hold pasta, chicken and vegetables.

When chicken and vegetables are done, add them and their juices to the bowl with pasta.

Add lemon juice and toss well.

Divide onto 4 serving plates.

Printable recipe for Warm Roasted Chicken Salad with Whole Wheat Pasta, substitute brown rice pasta to make it gluten-free.

Coffee Filter Troubles

2012-02-10T16:51:00.000-06:00

You know when you get to the bottom of your stack of coffee filters, and they look like this:

Add you peel one off the stack and it's all flat like this:

So you shove it into the coffee maker basket and it looks like this:

And you know, you JUST KNOW that one of those sides is going to fall over and the grounds and the water are going to escape and clog up the basket and you'll have a grainy wet puddle all over your counter? And you'll have to clean it all up before you can try again, and no one should have to tackle that job first thing in the morning without even one cup of coffee!

Here's how to keep that from happening:

Water. Drizzle in a little water and press the wet filter onto the sides of the basket with your fingers. You only need a tiny bit, less that a tablespoon. Tilt the basket and let the filter absorb the water. The damp filter will cling to the sides of the basket and stay put.

Press the little button on the bottom of the basket and drain off all the extra water.

See? Wet and clinging to the sides! Now make some coffee.

Gluten-free Warm Thai Chicken Salad, Thai Cabbage and Mojito

2012-01-30T23:02:00.000-06:00

Warm Thai Chicken Salad

Last night I asked my husband what he wanted me to make for dinner tonight. Just then, there was a commercial for a fast-food Thai Chicken Salad. "How about that? But with warm chicken." This morning, I visited Food.com and typed in Thai Chicken Salad. First up (highest rated) was this Warm salad. I love it when it's that easy.

I don't know about you, but when I read a recipe, I can 'taste' what it will taste like. And this tasted yummy. I had most items on hand, just needed to buy some limes and cilantro. I had never cooked cucumber before, and was pleasantly surprised with both the flavor and texture in the finished dish.

One of the Food.com reviewers mentioned that she served it with Thai Cabbage, so I jumped over and read that recipe. That also sounded good, and I had a bag of coleslaw mix in the fridge I needed to use up. I added fish sauce and chili with garlic paste to my shopping list.

Thai Cabbage

While I was at the market, I also bought some fresh mint to make Mojitos. They're not Thai, but lime and mint are common in Thai food and I thought it would go well with the spicyness of the cabbage. Joseph's was out of Fish Sauce, so I bought some Thai Seasoning Sauce. Since the first 2 ingredients are water and anchovies, I figured it would work out. It did. A note about fish sauce: it doesn't taste fishy when you cook with it. It tastes nutty and salty. It's one of those ingredients that adds Umami - a Japanese word that means deliciousness. So don't let it scare you.

Mojito

Wow! that Thai Cabbage was spicier than I anticipated! When I make it next time, I'll reduce the Chili with Garlic Paste by half. The Mojito helped cool everything down.

Here are links to the recipes at Food.com:
Warm Thai Chicken Salad
Thai Cabbage
Of course, I made some changes to them, here are my versions:

Warm Thai Chicken Salad
2 garlic cloves, microplaned
1/2 tsp. dried red pepper flakes
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed (12 - 16 ounces)
1 red bell pepper, 1/2" cubes
1 cucumber, peeled, sliced lengthwise and then into 1/4" half-moons
2 green onions, sliced
1/2 cup fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)
2 tablespoons Thai Seasoning Sauce OR soy sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
chopped lettuce
chopped fresh cilantro

Chop and measure all food and have ready to add to skillet.
Heat a large skillet until hot. Spray with oil. Add garlic and pepper flakes. Stir to coat with oil.
Add chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned on all sides.
Add red pepper, cucumber and onions. Stir to combine.
Add juice, sauce and sugar; bring to a boil. Cook 30 seconds.
Place lettuce on plates; divide chicken mixture among plates.
Drizzle with pan juices.
Sprinkle with cilantro.

Thai Cabbage
Sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon Thai Seasoning Sauce OR fish sauce
1/2 tablespoon Thai Chili with Garlic Paste
1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon fresh ginger, microplaned
1 clove garlic, microplaned
1 16 oz. bag coleslaw mix (without dressing), shredded style
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced in strips
2/3 cup shredded carrot (about 1 carrot)
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

Combine sauce ingredients and set aside.
Chop and measure all ingredients.
Heat a Dutch oven (or wok or very large skillet). When hot, spray with oil.
Add garlic and ginger. Stir to coat with oil.
Add all vegetables. Stir and cook over high heat 2-4 minutes.
Add sauce mixture, stir and cook 2-3 minutes longer, until cabbage is tender.
Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

Mojitos are not Thai, but they are citrusy and cooling, perfect alongside Thai foods.
This Mojito is my own take on your average mojito.
Fresh Mint leaves - 1 sprig (about 6 leaves) per glass
Fresh limes - 3 wedges (half a lime) per glass
rum (I prefer a golden rum, but whatever you have on hand) - 1 shot per glass
simple syrup* - 1 shot per glass
crushed ice
Seltzer water

Use tall wide glasses. Place the lime and mint in the glasses. Muddle it (pound them mercilessly with the end of a wooden spoon).
Add rum and simple syrup. Muddle it a bit longer.
Fill glass with crushed ice.
Top with selzer water. Stir.

*Simple Syrup
1 part sugar
1 part water
Bring to a boil. Boil 3 minutes. Cool. Cover and refrigerate leftovers.

Christmas Candy

2011-12-30T17:37:00.000-06:00

Photo ~~stolen~~ borrowed from Chef in Training

I am famous within my circle of family, friends and church friends for making truffles every Christmas. This year, I added a new one, Cake Batter Truffles, which I found at Chef in Training (via Pinterest, my newest obsession). Oh my goodness! They taste just like licking the beater. I can rave about them, since they are a found recipe and not my own creation. My niece, Ashley, and my daughter Jen and I made our traditional candies and Jen documented the proper way to dip truffles.

Things to remember when working with chocolate/candy coating:

1) Water is the enemy. Chocolate and candy coating is basically powder suspended in fat. Add water, even a drop, and all the powder will try to clump to it. That means don't melt it in a double boiler, because steam can ruin your chocolate without you ever seeing it. For the same reason, you don't want to chill your centers, because once you take them out of the fridge, condensation can form on the centers from the change in temperature.

2) Overheating/scorching. Chocolate/candy coating doesn't look melted when it melts. Stir it often so you know when it melts.

3) Thinking hotter chocolate/candy coating will be more liquidy than cooler chocolate/candy coating. When white chocolate/candy coating is first melted, it is too thick to coat properly. Temper it as described below before dipping.

First you must buy high quality coating. Please don't use 'bark' coating. It's not reliable and the flavor is awful. Wilton Candy Melts are good quality and easy to use, but I prefer Ambrosia brand which is sold in 1 lb. blocks at Woodmans. Be sure to get candy coating, not real milk chocolate, because real chocolate is much harder to work with. There's a whole process of melting and cooling to a fairly exact temperature or your chocolate will be dull and/or grainy. So candy coating is the way to go.

Cut the chocolate (from here on I'll refer to candy coating as chocolate), by cutting it on a thin angle. Don't try to cut it in squares, it won't cut or melt well. Place your knife at an angle to the corner of the block of chocolate and cut it in thin 1/4" or so pieces. It will fall into shards, that's what you want. Scoop it up, put it in a 2 cup pyrex measuring cup and put it in the microwave. Heat it at 50% power (any hotter and you'll scorch the chocolate) and stir EVERY 30 SECONDS. The reason you're using a 2 cup measure is: a) it's narrow and deep, which is helpful for dunking the centers; b) it only holds 2 cups so it won't solidify while you're in the middle of dipping, and c) glass holds heat, which helps keep the chocolate melted.

Once your chocolate is melted and smooth, stir it gently and lift up a spoonful and pour it back into the measuring cup from a height of several inches. This is called tempering and is essential when working with white coating. The dark chocolate coating comes out very liquidy, almost like chocolate syrup and is very easy to work with. The white chocolate coating needs to be tempered. As you stir, lift and pour the white coating, over and over, it will become thinner and more liquidy, and much easier to work with.

Now it's time to start dipping:

Drop one in:

Dunk it:

Scoop under it with a meat fork and let the excess run off:

Gently touch the bottom of the candy to the edge of the measuring cup. The surface tension of the coating will help pull off excess coating. If you don't do this you will end up with a large puddle of coating at the base of your finished candy.

Let the candy roll off onto a wax paper lined cookie sheet. Use the melted coating still on the fork to "touch up" any fork marks.

Add sprinkles while the coating is still wet.

Put it on your dessert table. Be prepared to refill the plate frequently.

Want the recipe?

Cake Batter Truffles

Slightly adapted from recipe found at: Chef in Training

½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened

½ cup granulated sugar

1 ½ cups flour

1 cup yellow cake mix, dry

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/8 teaspoon salt

3-4 Tablespoons milk

2 Tablespoons sprinkles, plus extra for decoration

16 ounces white candy coating

Beat together butter and sugar using an electric mixer for 5 minutes. Add flour, cake mix, vanilla and salt and mix thoroughly. Add 3 Tablespoons of milk. If needed, add more milk, a teaspoon at a time, to make a dough with the consistency of play dough. Knead in sprinkles by hand.

Using about a half tablespoon of dough for each, form dough into 1/2 inch balls and place on a wax paper lined cookie sheet. Set balls aside for 15 minutes at room temperature to firm up.

While dough balls are resting, melt candy coating in the microwave in 30 second intervals until melted. Stir between intervals.

Once the coating is melted and smooth, temper it by lifting up spoonfuls and letting it drizzle back into the bowl. It's ready to use when it flows like cake batter ; ).

Drop a ball into the melted chocolate. Scoop under it with a 2 pronged fork and encourage excess to run off by touching the bottom of the fork on the side of your bowl. Place truffle back on the cookie sheet and top with sprinkles. Repeat with remaining balls until finished.

Keep cake batter truffles in the refrigerator until 30 minutes before serving. Makes 40 - 50 truffles.