An American Housewife

So... tried the Carnivore Donuts.... you know, the ones made with just egg, milk powder, baking powder....

2026-03-03T12:22:00.005-06:00

In the last 3 or 4 years, I don't pay much attention to recipes online and almost never to recipes on social media. Life has been .... different.... over the past few years so this website came to a screeching halt more or less and is just now showing signs of life again.

If recipes come across my feed I'll sometimes stop to watch, once in a great while I'll save one. Almost no time or interest to try many of them but it just so happens I was free today, saw this one, and had the inclination and the ingredients to test it.

Carnivore Donuts.

There are a few (many, actually) different versions of this floating around. I initially saw one in which a young woman who looked and acted like she'd never baked a day in life, was trying a recipe video she saw of a man who was making them. She was using a video inside a video type thing that is so popular on social media.

The recipe used just eggs, milk powder and baking powder (although she had baking soda out on the counter when she started to make it... and then when she did the 'add ingredients' part of her video had switched to a tiny little packet of something instead of the baking soda - she called it baking powder so I assume it was.) I also assume someone told her the difference between baking soda and baking powder so she redid that part of her video. ANYWAY!

Supposedly these have a texture and taste of donuts and are often topped with a mixture of honey and cream cheese. Well, I just literally made cheesecake yesterday which has a similar flavor of the glaze so I decided I'd just use that on them when it came to that point.

I halved the recipe since it was a 'test recipe' and I also just have one donut pan (these are baked donuts, not fried).

CARNIVORE DONUTS

2 eggs
1 c whole milk powder
1/2 t baking powder

Whisk like crazy to get good air, and place into a well buttered donut pan. Bake at 310 for about 10-ish minutes.

WHAT I CHANGED

I added just the tiniest dusting of nutmeg powder as I really like the taste of old fashioned donuts. Not even enough to measure - not even a 'pinch' - less than that. I also added a couple drops of vanilla and lastly, because I saw a commenter say their Carnivore Donuts didn't raise without a little bit of baking soda as well, I added about 1/8 t baking soda.

I mistakenly baked at 350 degrees so they got a bit dark on top. I baked for 11 minutes.

FIRST THE PHOTOS then my opinion at the bottom

The batter - a nice yellow, thick batter that reminded me of the consistency of royal icing when you make it into a flowing 'base'.    Because it's a MINI donut pan, it's easier to pipe in the batter and it just so happens I had a reusable icing bag out as I was product testing them for a company. Immediately after filling - before even using, they did this. Safe to say it went into the trash right after this recipe was made.

Because it split, the batter was running down (and out the tip) so I just filled the donut cavities up and they looked more like pop-overs or cream puffs.

Here you can see how I just gave up trying to pipe the batter in nicely and instead, just squished the batter out of the broken bag the best I could, and filled them up all the way instead.

Even though the pan was buttered well, a couple still stuck a bit.
They browned more than I'd liked as the oven was preheated at 350 instead of 310.
I baked 11 minutes. The outside top got a bit brown on a few.

They looked like donuts on the bottom and a cream puff on top.
The texture is... a bit 'eggy' typical of keto and low carb, wheat-free baking.
Immediately out of the oven were soft and reminded me more of a cream puff than a donut.

I topped a couple by spreading with the cream cheese filling to be a 'donut'.
Meh.
Because they reminded me of cream puffs I grabbed the whipped cream and filled a couple.
Still meh.

FINAL THOUGHTS: I'm very glad I took a little smidgen of time to try these. They were and are nothing like donuts except maybe the fragrance and they must be enjoyed immediately out of the oven while they are still warm. As they cooled, even 10 minutes later, the texture changes. They are then more dry and not nearly as edible as when they were still hot, fresh or warm.

I'm not a fan - and have other recipes that are similar but far better. Very happy I tried this silly 'egg and milk powder' recipe but it's not one I'd make again. I might 'play' with the idea a bit and see if I can improve it, but I don't know if I'll even do that.

Pavlova from freeze dried egg whites

2026-02-27T14:40:00.004-06:00

PAVLOVA

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Be sure your mixing bowl and beaters are clean (even wipe them with vinegar to be sure) so no fat or oils are on them.

6 T Freeze dried egg whites along with 2 T water per egg white
3 T powdered sugar (or powdered natural sweetener for low carb)
2 t vanilla

Mix the egg white powder and water in your mixing bowl to soft peak stage. With the mixer running on low, add in the powdered sugar or sweetener and the vanilla very slowly, once it's all added in and dissolved into the egg whites, increase speed to medium until it's thick and glossy and stiff peaks.

Turn it out onto parchment in a big blob and then use the back of a large spoon or a large icing knife to pull up the sides, and use your big spoon to scoop out the center a bit.

Turn your oven down to 225 degrees and bake for 1 1/2 hours, turn off your oven and leave it in (without opening your oven) for at least 6+ hours. I made mine in the late afternoon and left it overnight.

Served the next day with homemade lemon curd and fresh berries (strawberries and blueberries are good - as well as raspberries).

Kind of a Chef Boyardee copycat version of their lasagna or pasta but also is lasagna soup (or stew if you make it thicker like I did)

2026-02-27T13:46:00.002-06:00

This lasagna soup was one I saw on social media from McCormick spices, and although I didn't have lasagna noodles on hand, it looked really easy and surprisingly good to me that afternoon so I decided I'd whip it up for dinner. I don't actually love 'soup' for dinner and I'm not a huge fan of lasagna or any of its soup equivalents. But it was really cold that day, and this recipe was so easy to throw together in a pot and forget about it that I decided to make it.

At first I didn't think it was one I'd bother putting on my website for future reference but when I had leftovers the next day I realized it tasted a lot like the Chef Boyardee version I remembered from my childhood... and decided to put here just in case I ever felt like making it again.

Another quick note - I used food storage items in this too so if you need to use your freeze dried ground beef, this is a good way to do it.

Loosely based on the Lasagna Soup recipe by McCormick - but then winged it on my own version

2 T olive oil
1 onion, diced (or used the equivalent of dried)
1 lb. ground beef (used freeze dried - with some bouillon added for flavor)
2 cans diced tomatoes (14 oz each)
1 - 6 oz. can tomato paste
1 t garlic powder
1 t onion powder
1 t dried oregano (I used more like 2 teaspoons)
1-2 t dried basil
salt and pepper
4 c chicken stock or made with chicken bouillon base
A handful of pasta - lasagna noodles broken up or penne, etc.

Brown the ground beef and onion in the oil. Add everything else, bring to a boil and then simmer until the noodles are soft. Add more water as needed if you are using freeze dried foods or if you want it more 'soup' and less thick. It was even better the next day - it had thickened up to ChefBoyardee style and texture and tasted a lot like it.

Roast Beef Sliders - homemade and super quick and easy

2026-01-21T17:43:00.000-06:00

I'm getting ready to make dinner, got the roast beef and the buns (regular for my husband and keto for me) and I couldn't recall where my recipe for these was! I checked my 'go to' recipe book, didn't see them but that doesn't mean it wasn't there... I probably missed it. I've not made these in forever... forgot about them as I don't typically buy roast beef slices when I go to Sam's... but saw them on the shelf my last trip and said "OH YEAH...."

I came to my website to get my recipe (from 11/5/22) and I figured I'd repost it as I'm literally whipping these up now and will not 'forget' about making them again any time soon... they are a favorite of both my husband and I - and need to be put back into rotation!

Roast Beef Sandwiches

2 T olive oil

2-3 t minced garlic

1/4 t red pepper flakes

1/2 lb. sliced roast beef (mine comes from Sam's Club in the meat/deli area)

1/2 c beef broth

1 t Worcestershire sauce or, a little balsamic vinegar or red wine

2 t liquid aminos or soy sauce

2 t dried parsley

2 t dried basil

1/4 t salt and dash fresh cracked black pepper

1/2 t oregano

provolone or swiss cheese slices

buns

In a skillet, heat the oil. Add the garlic and dried red pepper flakes. Heat for 1 minute then add the roast beef slices, broth, Worcestershire, liquid aminos, parsley, basil, salt and pepper and oregano. Heat through. Lay bottom buns in a pan, top with the meat. Drizzle the sauce over, top with cheese slices and the top bun. Drizzle the top with a little more sauce. Heat in an oven until the cheese melts.

A little more on top... optional

I sometimes put a wire cookie cooling rack on the bottom of the pan and the sandwiches on top, which keeps the sauce completely off the bottom bun if you don't want any liquid on the bottom. Other times I don't bother. If I don't use too much sauce, it doesn't really affect the bottom bun. If you use a LOT of sauce and the bottoms get a bit soggy, just flip them over and back into the oven to crisp up the bottoms. Flip again and serve.

Soft, squishy homemade playdough - (I made 20 pounds of homemade playdough this day!)

2026-01-19T09:48:00.001-06:00

I've been making homemade playdough ever since I was a child - literally. My mother never (ever) bought play-doh from the store, but made it so that was what I knew growing up. When I had children we did buy Play-Doh and Play-Doh sets from the store (and still do) but made tons of homemade as well - to supplement, to make more to share, and to just 'enjoy' when the store bought versions were too hard to use in some of the play-sets. The squishy homemade versions are so soft, and more affordable!

This post comes about because I have some 'old' flour to use up from our emergency storage, and playdough is one of the items I chose to use it up on.

I also wanted to use up some celtic salt I don't like as well as 2 of the flavor extracts I'm not a fan of! I don't want to use any of these in cooking or baking so they were perfect to make into tons of playdough.

SUPER SOFT, SQUISHY HOMEMADE PLAYDOUGH

2 c flour
3/4 c salt
4 t cream of tartar
2 c water
2 T oil of choice (I used cheap, vegetable oil)
food color and extracts of choice (or use some powdered Kool-Aid from a packet)

Dump all your ingredients into a saucepan on the stove. Cook over medium, stirring constantly. It will start to thicken and get sticky. Keep stirring. It will start to turn into a ball and hold together. Remove from heat. Remove from the pan and plop it out onto wax or parchment paper to cool a little bit - it will still be sticky. As soon as you can work with it without burning your hands, start to knead it. As you knead it, it comes together. When it's smooth and pliable, and cooled, it's ready to use. Store it in a plastic bag to keep it soft.

You can wait and not add the food color until later if you want more than one color per batch

It's sticky but comes together when you knead it.

Plop it out of the pan and start to knead it into a ball when it's cool enough to work with

I used good quality gel and powdered color to get the vibrant shades

I made 20 pounds of Playdough this day!

Low Carb Sugar Free Carrot Cake with my Coffee (and cream cheese frosting on it)

2026-01-17T13:51:00.007-06:00

We have been enjoying a keto carrot cake this weekend with our coffee as I had to use up some leftover baby carrots from when we had houseguests... I snapped a couple quick pictures with my cell phone to show it as I don't know that I care enough to try to make it look 'pretty' - I literally take a photo just before I'm going to eat it!

I have a version of it I posted back in 2016... Some of those ingredients are not made any longer and others, I don't use anymore or use newer versions.

Here is the carrot cake (sugar free, low carb) I posted back in 2016. Very similar to the one I typically make now - just a couple changes. About 10 years ago I started to add heavy cream to my frostings as well - so similar base - but add a huge dollop of heavy cream and you get more volume, a smooth silky frosting, and even better flavor.

https://www.housewifebarbie.com/2016/05/

The current cake I've been making for the past almost 10 years though is this one (based on Carolyn Ketchums recipe!).

Low Carb Carrot Cake

2 c almond flour
1/3 c coconut flour
1/3 vanilla whey protein powder (I use Isopure and have for 20 years)
1 T baking powder
2 t cinnamon
1 t salt
dash of ground cloves
4 eggs
1/2 c avocado oil
1/2 c brown sugar style sweetener
1/2 c granular style natural sweetener
1 1/2 c shredded baby carrots
2 t baking vanilla
optional - a few tablespoons chopped pecans

Grease and line the pans (I use 2, 8" or 9" pans). Blend together the dry ingredients (flours, powders, seasoning).

Mix the eggs, oil and sweeteners, add carrots and vanilla. Beat in the dry ingredient mixture and add chopped nuts if using.

Divide batter between the 2 pans and bake in a 350 oven for about 20 minutes, until done in the center. Let cool. Remove from pans.

Spread frosting between layers, top and frost all.

For the Frosting I used:

1 stick butter
8 oz. cream cheese
3/4 c powdered natural sweetener (depending on the brand you use some are sweeter than others so adjust to taste. 1 cup of my allulose/splenda/stevia blend is TOO sweet so must cut back to 2/3-ish.)
1-2 t vanilla

dash of salt
Enough heavy whipping cream to taste and amount you need (I use about 3/4 cup)

In a mixing bowl whip the butter and cream cheese and sweeteners with the vanilla. Slowly pour in the heavy cream while on low speed and increase to medium high. Beat until it's whippy and spreadable. Use on your cakes.

Two (2) Ingredient Whole, Roasted Chicken

2026-01-09T08:43:00.003-06:00

Am I 'back'? No... not really. I'm still pondering whether I have the time and the urge to bring An American Housewife (housewifebarbie.com) back up or not. But in the meantime I had a couple pictures from my cellphone I could upload of our whole roasted chicken this week from dinner and thought I'd post because it is SO good and literally is just 2 ingredients.

Yes, two.

Two Ingredient Whole Roasted Chicken

1 whole chicken
Dale's Seasoning Marinade and Sauce

Place the chicken into your roasting container (pan, dish, etc) and pour over about 3/4 cup of Dale's. Pop it into the oven and roast until done according to weight and size of your chicken. Visit the oven a few times during roasting to spoon some of the marinade/drippings from the bottom of the pan over the top of the chicken. You can also flip your chicken over half way through cooking to get both sides browned and seasoned deeply.

Here is where I'm going to say you don't have to use Dale's if you don't want. You can find it in many grocery stores, Walmart has it, even Amazon of course... but the reason I started to buy it a few years ago is I realized it tasted almost exactly like MY homemade steak marinade that I've made for years (decades now) and loved; but since it tastes like mine, I might as well just buy a big container of it and I wouldn't have to mix up my own.

In December 2006 I included it on my site (it's actually been posted numerous times).

https://www.housewifebarbie.com/2006/12/steak-marinade.html

You can play with the amounts in it to suite your taste.
When I first starting making this recipe it was so many years ago we still used vegetable oil and real sugar (eek!) So for the past 2 years I've always substituted other options. I'm not a big fan of ginger so I go really light on that one. We don't use sugar much so I use low carb or keto options. Also sometimes add a smidgen of worchestershire sauce sometimes, etc. I also sometimes add hickory smoke liquid. I can tell you I always add extra fresh, minced garlic - so healthy and so good. Play with it.

STEAK MARINADE (works for chicken)
(use the brands and types of ingredients you like best - and amounts)

1/3 c soy sauce, (or coconut aminos, liquid aminos, etc.)
2 T vegetable oil, (or canola oil, olive oil, avocado oil, etc.)
1+ T brown sugar (or brown sugar sweetener equivalent)
3/4 t garlic, minced, (or use garlic powder)
1 t ginger
1 t seasoned salt (Lawry's etc)

2026.... My blog's 20 year Anniversary. A rare blog post on An American Housewife - It might be time to make An American Housewife active again

2026-01-05T12:23:00.003-06:00

It is this site's 20th Anniversary!

If you are new here or never knew the history of the site An American Housewife... here is a quick blurb;

The name "American Housewife" stems from an idea for a cookbook I'd always wanted to put out in the 90's and early 2000's. I never had the funds to make it happen... but then the internet came along and the chance to have a recipe website presented itself to me.
The name American Housewife was a natural. As for the url of the site; housewifebarbie - well, that stems from a joke that I kind of regret now.

I was a full time Mommy with three children under the age of 5. I loved cooking, baking, sewing, crafts and everything to do with babies and children. My friends dubbed me the Original Housewife Barbie... after the Barbie doll that had done everything from being an astronaut to a doctor to a teacher, but never 'just a housewife'.
During some joking conversation one day, I was deemed the original Housewife Barbie and when I had to think of an original url for a blog in 2006, it seemed only natural to use it since it was just a personal little blog for myself and who cares? Right?

This site is a collection of recipes I've gained over the years since I was in Junior High. Some from the 1,000 recipe books and magazines I have, some from the internet, some from friends, family members, my grandmothers old handwritten school notebook from cooking class and various other places. It's a collection of recipes that also includes those that I've made up myself for my own family.

This site was started in 2006 and for quite awhile was my 'part time job' and was much, much busier, bigger and had links and affiliates and ads. Was continuously updated, had a very high ranking and had about 2 million visits when I put it in 'standby' mode to focus on a lot of things going on in our life at the time.

So many life changes in the past few years... so many big, big things. I had to pull back all recipe posts, reviews, affiliate links, ads, regular updates, etc. as I was expending all my time and energy elsewhere by

As we enter 2026 I was really just going to update my site with the cookie list for Christmas 2025... (I made 24 recipes this holiday season and multiple batches of many of them). I also thought about starting the website back up again... at least a bit... when I realized upon logging in that it is now 2026 and my site was started in 2006 and OMGOSH it's my 20th Anniversary of this site!

It might be a grand time to make it active again.

An American Housewife: Thanksgiving Pies for 2025! A different pie crust this year, and 3 pies; pumpkin, pecan and caramel apple (PIE CRUST RECIPE with sour cream)

2025-11-27T08:36:00.005-06:00

I LOVE my regular pie crust and have been making it since my children were itty bitty babies, but this year, I was flipping through an old catalog of King Arthur I found tucked into one of my 1000 recipe binders, and saw a random pie crust recipe that used an addition of sour cream and baking powder. Two items I don't typically use in my pie crusts. But I had sour cream on hand that wasn't earmarked for any meal in particular and I was in a grumpy mood in which I did not feel like taking on any of the tasks at hand and making a pie would keep me busy and give me a reason for not doing 'all the things' I should have been doing. I also had been given a can of caramel apple pie filling by someone who couldn't/wouldn't use it, a year or so ago (which we never use either), and have never used, and will never use... so it's just been sitting in the back of the pantry. I decided to make a pie, and then gift the pie to someone.

So that is the back story to why I tried a different pastry recipe this year and why I actually made a caramel apple pie using a store bought can of pie filling - which I've never done before. I got rid of the odd-can of filling AND tried a new recipe.

The pie crust made with sour cream and baking powder was... interesting. Different, but good enough that I made it two more times and made all three (3) pies with it this year. There is a bit of tang to it from the sour cream, but it's good, flaky, yet durable and easy to work with.

Here is the apple pie I gifted after it was baked... and was well received, and I asked for feedback on the pie crust from.

Going into the oven to bake....

Pie Crusts 2025

2 c flour (Used a mixture of AP and flour I ground myself from soft white wheatberries)
1/2 t salt
1/2 t baking powder
2 sticks butter, cold
1/2 c sour cream

Put the dry ingredients in a food processor bowl (or a plain mixing bowl if you wish to mix by hand). Give a couple whirls to mix the dry. Cut the butter into dices, pats or pieces. For a food processor, add and pulse until it is a crumb mixture. If by hand, smoosh and blend with your fingers (or use a pastry cutter) until it it is a crumb mixture and bits of butter are throughout the flour. Add the sour cream last, mixing in by hand or give a couple pulse whirls in the food processor just until the dough comes together.

Turn out on parchment paper sprinkled with a bit of flour. Divide dough into 2 disks. If it's still cold, you can roll out immediately, or just form a disk, wrap in plastic and chill in fridge until you are ready to roll. Make a circle just a bit larger than your pie dish, and lift in. Finish the edges however you wish. Can be pre-baked for cold or custard pies, or freeze them until needed for filling pies - or fill immediately and bake.

Making the pies for Thanksgiving... a traditional pumpkin pie this year except made with part raw, organic honey to cut back on the dreaded corn syrup it traditionally uses.

And pecan...

Which you can leave like this after adding the pecans.... or you can quickly decorate the top with a design of whole pecans as well.

Coffeecake Muffins (low carb, keto, yada yada)

2025-08-30T13:57:00.003-05:00

It's been a long, long time since I've posted. Life is still... life-ing.
It's been a tough past couple years. Most of the time I don't even think of my old cooking and recipe blog!

This afternoon I was taking a break from convincing myself NOT to do all the things my brain is telling me should get done. I had Coffee Cake Muffins on the counter so I stood there eating one when I suddenly thought about the cooking blog, "An American Housewife" Cooks. No idea why but it popped in my head. I was SURE I had posted this recipe... probably at least 2 or 3 times, as I've made it at least 50 times in the past 10 years. I snapped a picture with my cellphone as I was eating, and then later, came online to see if it was here.

Well, I have no idea... because I didn't find it within the first 8 seconds of searching so I just opted to post again.

Carb count depends on the products and brands you use. Also, when I first started to make this recipe, there were VERY FEW products available... so my original hand written recipe card calls for things like Splenda and I think (?) Brown Sugar Twin or something like that. Because back then the market had almost no sugar-free, low carb, keto products. So things change over the years. Use what you use. Count your carbs and sugar using your products.

Coffeecake Muffins

Topping:

1/2 c almond flour
3 T brown sugar style natural sweetener
2 T coconut flour
3/4 t cinnamon
1/4 c melted butter

Mix the topping ingredients together to blend well and set aside.

Muffins:

2 c almond flour
1/3 c sweetener of choice
1/4 c whey protein powder (unflavored or vanilla - zero carb, zero sugar)
3 T coconut flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 t cinnamon
1 t vanilla
1/4 t salt
1/2 c melted butter
4 eggs
1/2 unsweetened almond milk

Preheat your oven to 325.
Whisk together the dry ingredients for your muffins.
Stir in the butter, eggs, almond milk and vanilla. Mix well by hand or briefly with mixer.

Fill lined muffin tins (makes 1 pan of 12-ish or about 6 jumbo with some leftover). Place some of the crumble topping on each muffin tin of batter. Bake for 25-30 minutes until done. Cool complete in pans.

If you wish at this point you can add a simple sugar free drizzle on top:
1/4 c powdered natural sweetener
2 T water or almond milk
1/2 t vanilla

Or top with a sugar free frosting. I used a cinnamon flavored frosting on the ones in the photo above.

Keto Brownies (Note to self: THIS ONE!!!!!!)

2025-06-07T14:09:00.001-05:00

Last night, spur of the moment, decided to make brownies before bed.

I don't like chocolate and rarely crave sweets but I've been starting back on keto after a long, long time off due to... things; and after a couple days, I was mentally craving foods I knew I didn't even really like. However, I know when I am re-starting keto or sugar free, low carb, I always start to crave crazy things around days 3 and 7 just because I want something sweet. (25 years of eating mostly low carb/sugar free you start to know yourself!)

Chose a cast iron skillet this time for no particular reason. When I was going to add the sweeteners, I grabbed my current mixture of allulose, monk fruit and stevia but saw a bag of Splenda Magic Blend I forgot I even had. Used half that and half the allulose blend (that I'm trying to use up as it's used in so few recipes as it's a 'softer' finish so it's best in things like homemade ice cream... not baked goods that you like with a crisp edge).

I ended up eating it warm, straight from the oven, with a spoon.
Then I went to bed.

Brownies

3/4 c almond flour
1/2 c natural sweeteners (used Splenda Magic Blend, and Allulose, Monk Fruit and Stevia)
1/4 c cocoa powder
1 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
3 oz cream cheese
1/4 stick melted butter
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
1/2 c sugar free chocolate chips (used Lily's this time)

Oven to 325. Buttered pan. Combine the dry, add the wet. Mix. Pour into pan and smooth the top. Bake 30-35 minutes. Let cool completely.

A really ugly photo of the brownies literally right out of the oven. It was night time, and my kitchen lights always make things look ugly even in the day (with a yellow cast) but at night, even uglier. They are actually a deep, deep dark chocolate color and were oh-so good!!!! A quick photo of one I ate at lunch today.

And to make it easy to 'grab one' I sometimes do this with brownies or cheesecake... make them into little "brownie bites" or "cheesecake bites" so I can grab just one and not have to rely on myself for portion control.

Low Carb Keto No Bake Cookies (and a few other versions of vintage No Bake Cookies including those cooked in a saucepan)

2025-05-19T19:21:00.000-05:00

I rarely post anymore and I've removed almost everything from my site except the bare minimum but once in a great while I still pop in to add a recipe as it makes it easy for me to find them myself. And, at least for now I'm still keeping my site open to the public, so you get to enjoy all the collected recipes as well. (I may start up again in the future and build the site back but life kicked me in the teeth (again) in 2024 and this site fell down on the priority list.)

The no-bake cookies my family (my Mother) has been making since the late 1970's and our family continues to make to this day are not the kind most people know as no-bake cookies as typically they make the ones you boil in a saucepan for 3 minutes. I have that recipe, yes I make it sometimes, but the family favorite of our family is truly NO BAKE.

We make these without fail every single Christmas and various times through the year. They have oatmeal, butter, cocoa powder, sugar, vanilla and powdered sugar, etc.... which a couple of which, are things we do not eat when we are eating low-carb and sugar free.

Replacing the oats with flaked unsweetened coconut works well and I found a recipe that used a mixture of coconut, pecans and peanut butter; I found it to be pretty good - a 'keeper' anyway although it's not the keto low carb version I make when I do a copycat of my mother's version. For now I'm keeping that one tucked away.

This version of a low carb, sugar free
No Bake Cookie

1 1/2 c crunchy peanut butter
1 1/2 c unsweetened coconut flakes
4 T butter
1/2 c powdered sweetener such as allulose/monk fruit
2 heaping T cocoa powder
1 heaping t good quality vanilla paste or extract
1/2 c chopped pecans

Mix all together in a large mixing bowl with a paddle attachment or by hand. Scoop mounds with a 1 1/2" cookie scoop or use a large spoon and form into mounds on parchment or wax paper. Smash each mound with the palm of your hand just a little bit to form a nice flat circle, but still quite thick.

Let stand until they harden a bit and form a bit of a crust (depending on the humidity and temperature of your house this can be in an hour or could be 4-5 hours. You can also just leave them out overnight.)

___________________________________________

In May of 2012 I posted this version, which uses oats and are not low carb, but are sugar free.

No Bake Cookies

1/2 c butter
1/2 c unsweetened almond milk (or regular milk, but milk does have sugar in it)
2 c sweetener substitute
4 T cocoa powder
3 c oatmeal
1 c natural, no sugar added peanut butter
1 t vanilla
*optional: you can add unsweetened, shredded coconut or chopped nuts if you wish

In a saucepan, bring the sugar substitutes, cocoa, butter and milk to a boil. Whisk quickly until smooth. Remove from heat. Add the oatmeal, peanut butter and vanilla. Stir to blend. Drop by tablespoons on parchment or foil and let set until hardened a bit so they don't fall apart! After about 2 minutes or so you can shape them a little if you wish (I flattened mine a bit) or leave them in haystacks. Let harden and cool completely.

In February, 2016 I posted this version - which I think almost every housewife in America was making back in the 1970's and is still popular today. This is the kind that is cooked in a sauce pan and then spooned out into mounds. (In 2016 I started to make this version using natural sweeteners like erythritol, monkfruit, etc. and used almond milk in place of dairy milk).

No Bake Cookies

1 c granulated sugar
4 T butter
1/2 c milk
1/3 c cocoa
1-2 t vanilla
3 c oats - quick or regular

Combine sugar, butter, milk and cocoa in a saucepan and bring to boil over medium heat. Boil 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Stir in oatmeal and vanilla. Drop portions onto foil or parchment paper. Let stand until firm.

Low-carb and sugar free - no oats in this one. The unsweetened natural coconut flakes take the place of the oats.

Homemade Sugar Free No Churn (No Machine) Ice Cream - Coffee flavor!

2025-04-02T15:03:00.001-05:00

Was craving ice cream lately but never wanted to add it to the grocery budget. I lent our ice cream maker to our daughter and haven't borrowed it back yet so I had to make the 'no churn' 'no machine' kind which takes making the sugar free sweetened condensed milk first (which is what takes the most time). Luckily I was home yesterday and could start it and let it simmer away without standing there willing it to go faster.

Homemade Sugar Free Coffee Flavored Ice Cream

1 c heavy cream
1 1/4 c heavy cream
1/2 c unsweetened almond milk
3/4 c sweeteners - mixture of allulose, bochasweet and monk fruit
2 T butter
1/2 - 3/4 t Thick It (a xanthan based thickener available online)
1 T espresso powder
1 t vanilla
1-2 t instant coffee (I use one full single packet)

In a saucepan mix the 1 c heavy cream and almond milk along with about half the sweetener. Bring to a brief boil, then reduce to a constant fast simmer for about 45 minutes until it's thickened up a little. Stir every now and then and make sure your heat isn't too high or it will scorch. Remove from heat and whisk in the butter and the ThickIt (by sprinkling over the top and whisking briskly). Add the espresso powder and vanilla. I used a stick blender briefly pulsed a couple times to make it super quick.

Cool this mixture either in the refrigerator or let it set until completely cool.

Whip the 1 1/4 c heavy cream to stiff peaks along with the last half of the sweeteners. Fold in the coffee mixture. When combined, stir and swirl in a teaspoon or so (1 packet) instant coffee. Leave it swirled to give that look or mix it in completely if you prefer a solid color soft brown ice cream. Transfer to the container for the freezer, seal and freeze for about 5-6 hours.

Coffee mixture after whisking. Now let it cool completely before adding in the whipped cream

Homemade Yogurt (... with starter culture and made in the oven)

2025-04-01T18:46:00.001-05:00

I've posted my regular 'go to' homemade yogurt recipe here before (here is one from 2019) which I use dry milk powder (so I don't have to bother heating it) and a heating pad to incubate it. (Is that the right word? ha ha. Sounds weird.)

This time around I'm using half and half I wanted to use up - and most importantly, I gave my heating pad to a family member and don't have one right now. I don't have a 'yogurt' maker nor do I have a yogurt button on my electric pressure cooker so I did it the old fashioned way... in the oven.

I also opted to sweeten it just a bit at the start instead of at the end. This yogurt made with half and half is so incredibly thick and creamy - very very good.

Yogurt
With starter culture and made in the oven

1/2 gallon half and half
1 c unsweetened almond milk
1/3 - 1/2 c natural sweetener
dash of vanilla
2 T yogurt with live active cultures or a packet of yogurt culture starter

Mix the half and half and almond milk (if you are using almond milk in addition to half and half) with the natural sweetener in a large pot on the stove. Over medium, heat slowly to 180 degrees. Simmer at this temperature or as close to it (180-190) for about 10 minutes, stirring most of the time.

Cool the mixture to 110 either slowly letting it set or quickly with a cold water/ice bath.

Stir 1 cup of the warm mixture into the 2 T yogurt or the starter culture.

Add it all back into the big pot and stir.

Add some vanilla if you wish or leave it plain depending on what kind of yogurt you want.

Ladle it into jars at this point if you wish or you can leave it in one large container.

I added freeze dried fruit to the bottom of some of the cups and left some plain.

In a briefly warmed oven, set the tray of sealed jars, or the container of yogurt.

Leave the oven light on for warmth and leave alone for about 12 hours (all night works well).

Once set, chill the yogurt for at least 3 hours.

At this point you can add flavorings, fruit, etc. to the yogurt if you wish as well. Keep refrigerated until using within 2 weeks.

Ciabattas

2025-03-15T19:31:00.003-05:00

Although I am rarely posting on An American Housewife lately, I wanted to take the time to get this one saved as I want to continue to work with this and improve it a little more to my own personal liking of the exact texture I want. It's so very close! But I want just a tiny little bit more rise time I think to give it even more air bubbles inside. However, it's so good even as it is!

Such a chewy texture... oh I love it.

I did not plan to post so I wasn't taking any photos of the process. My photos were just a couple I snapped on my cellphone to send to a friend as we were chatting.

This recipe is using a starter. This is what I did differently this time making ciabatta and I feel like it's made the difference in the chewy outside texture I was going for.
It was fairly chilly in the kitchen this day and I really should have helped it along but I decided to let it do what it wanted as I was terribly busy and making ciabattas as a side project while my attention was elsewhere. For the final rise it was late and I wanted to go to bed, so into the fridge it went. With all these short-cuts and leave-outs it still turned out so good.

I grind my own wheat to make the flour so it's not as fine as store bought and gives it even more of an artisan feel.

CIABATTA
From my sourdough starter

1 1/2 c water
2 t salt
1/2 c active sourdough starter
3 1/2 c bread flour

Mix the water and salt in a bowl. Add the starter and stir. Add the flour, and stir until you have a wet, sticky dough ball. Knead briefly with your hands if necessary to incorporate the flour. Cover and let sit for 30 minutes.

With wet hands, grab one side of the dough, and pull up and to the center. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn, and repeat. Do this until you’ve made a full circle. Cover the bowl. Repeat this process three more times at 30-minute intervals for a total of 4 sets of stretches and folds over the course of two hours.

Transfer the dough to a straight-sided container. Cover the vessel with a towel. Let rise at room temperature until the dough nearly doubles in volume. Cover with a lid to prevent it from drying out. Transfer to fridge for 12-24 hours.

Remove from fridge. Sprinkle top of dough liberally with flour. Turn dough out onto a floured work surface. Pat dough into a rectangle. Sprinkle top with flour. Use a bench scraper to cut the dough into 8 small rectangles.

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. With floured hands, transfer each rectangle to the prepared pan, gently pulling outward. Cover the pan with a towel. Let stand for one hour.

Pre-heat oven to 475ºF. Transfer pan to oven and bake for 10 minutes. Lower heat to 450ºF, rotate pan, and bake for 10 minutes more. Remove pan from oven. Transfer to a cooling rack. Let cool for 20 to 30 minutes before slicing.

Adapted from https://alexandracooks.com/2021/04/25/simple-sourdough-ciabatta-bread/

Vintage Recipes: Custard Rhubarb Pie, Roast Turkey in a Paper Sack, Mexican Squash and Sunday Night Waffles

2025-02-25T16:47:00.006-06:00

This cookbook from my pantry isn't especially old, I couldn't find the publication date inside the cover pages like usual but looking it up online, it is listed as published in 1971.

Old enough, to be called vintage? I consider my collected books from the early 1900's to about 1940's to be vintage. But 1971 is old enough I suppose.

This one is called Americana Cookery; An illustrated cookbook of regional America's traditional recipes.

I'll grab a couple recipes at random to share while I sip my coffee and wait for a delivery this afternoon....

Custard Rhubarb Pie

4 c diced rhubarb
2 c sugar
1/3 c flour
3 eggs, separated
1 unbaked pie shell
1 T butter
1/4 t cream of tartar
6 T brown sugar

Combine rhubarb, sugar, flour and egg yolks in a bowl. Stir. Let stand for several minutes until the juice begins to form; pour mixture into pie shell. Dot top with butter. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 250 degrees; bake for 30 minutes longer. Place egg whites and cream of tartar in a bowl; beat until soft peaks form. Add brown sugar gradually; beat until stiff glossy peaks form. Add meringue to top of pie. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

Mrs. Doris Patterson, Shelbyville Jr. High, Shelbyville, IN
Notation: I did find a Doris Patterson who lived in Shelbyville and was a retired teacher. If this is her, she passed away in June of 2016.

Sunday Night Waffles

2 eggs, slightly beaten
3/4 c oil
2 1/2 c milk
2 1/2 c flour
1 1/2 T sugar
3/4 t salt
4 t baking powder

Combine eggs, oil and milk in mixer bowl. Blend flour, sugar, salt and baking powder together. Add to egg mixture, stirring to mix. Beat with electric mixer for about 2 minutes. Bake in hot waffle iron until golden brown and done.

Marthanne Limehouse, St. Paul's HS, Yonges Island, SC

Mexican Squash

1 1/2 lb. yellow squash
1 med onion, chopped
2 T fat
2 cloves garlic
1 1/2 c tomatoes
1 or 2 t cumin seed
salt to taste
2 or 3 hot peppers (optional)

Wash and remove seed from squash; do not peel. Cut into 1 inch cubes. Saute onion in fat until crystal clear; add squash, garlic, tomatoes and seasonings with 1 cup water. Simmer until done, adding water, if necessary. Add the hot peppers the last 15 minutes of cooking.

Mrs. Nan Dryer, Mission HS, Mission, TX

Roast Turkey in a Brown Paper Sack

1 16-20 lb. turkey
salt to taste
1 recipe poultry stuffing
fat or shortening

Rub inside of turkey with salt. Fill neck cavity with stuffing; fasten neck skin with skewer or pin. Fasten opening with skewers; lace shut. Tie leg ends to tail. Brush entire bird with fat. Place in brown paper sack; seal. Place in shallow baking pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 5 hours and 30 minutes. Remove paper sack.

Frances Schneider, Menomonie HS, Menomonie, WI
I found what is possibly a match for Ms. Frances, if it is her, she passed away in April of 2023.

Carrot Loaf (a vintage recipe from the 1930's and 1940's)

2025-02-02T18:52:00.003-06:00

What a bizarre recipe! I don't often update this site anymore (maybe in the future if I get more time... right now it's impossible) but I saw this one in an old magazine and just thought it was the most interesting recipe! Peanuts and tomatoes and carrots? Oh my. If you make it you can tell me how it was. :)

Carrot Loaf

1 c ground carrots
1 c tomatoes
1 c ground peanuts
1 T butter
1 c bread crumbs
4 eggs

Grind carrots, peanuts and bread through your food chopper. Add tomatoes and butter. Mix well.
Beat eggs until foamy, then add.
Bake in a greased loaf pan at 350 for 1 hour.

Lemon Sherbet Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

2025-01-01T15:39:00.000-06:00

I saved this recipe in my files back in 2023 at some point. I just saw it and want to post it so I can find it easily if I decide to them them this week. Lemon everything is sounding so good lately!

Lemon Sherbet Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

1 c (8 oz.) salted butter, softened
2 1/2 c granulated sugar
6 large eggs
3 c all-purpose flour
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t table salt
1 c sour cream
1 T lemon zest
1 T fresh lemon juice
1 t vanilla extract

Frosting:
1 c butter, softened
3 T lemon zest
4 c powdered sugar
8 T fresh lemon juice
1 to 2 drops yellow liquid food coloring

Preheat oven to 350°F. Beat 1 cup softened butter at medium speed with a heavy-duty stand mixer until creamy; gradually add granulated sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.

Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in 1 tablespoon zest, 1 tablespoon juice, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Place 30 paper baking cups in three 12-cup standard-size muffin pans; spoon 1/4 cup batter into each baking cup.

Bake in preheated oven until a wooden pick inserted in centers comes out clean, 20 to 23 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks, and cool completely, about 20 minutes.

Prepare Frosting: Beat 8 ounces softened butter and 3 tablespoons lemon zest at medium speed until creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Gradually add powdered sugar alternately with 8 tablespoons lemon juice, beating at low speed until blended after each addition. Add up to 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon at a time, beating until desired consistency is reached. Add food coloring, and beat at high speed until well blended and frosting is light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes.

Spoon frosting into a ziplock plastic freezer bag. Snip 1 corner of bag to make a small hole. Pipe about 1 1/2 tablespoons frosting onto each cupcake.

Lime Sherbet Cupcakes: Substitute lime zest for lemon zest and fresh lime juice for lemon juice. For frosting, substitute fresh lime juice for lemon juice, and 1 to 2 drops green liquid food coloring for yellow.

Orange Sherbet Cupcakes: Substitute orange zest for lemon zest and fresh orange juice for lemon juice. For frosting, substitute orange zest for lemon zest and 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 7 to 8 tablespoons fresh orange juice in place of 8 to 9 tablespoons lemon juice. Substitute 1 drop red liquid food coloring for yellow.

It's that time... the 2024 Christmas Cookie List

2024-12-02T08:31:00.005-06:00

Briefly popping in to the mostly-neglected recipe blog to update my 2024 Christmas Cookie List.
I really should say 'idea' list though as I brainstormed a list a couple weeks ago, but more than likely will change and adapt it as I go along. There are currently 17 recipes on the list but I usually end up making between 22-26 so I know I'll have more when I make up the trays and boxes.

2024 Current Christmas Cookie Idea List

Russian Tea Cakes (or sometimes called Mexican Wedding Cakes)
Angel Bars
Cream Wafers
English Toffee (maybe)
Harris Fruitcake
Gateau Bonbons
Pretzel Bites with Rolos, Kisses and M&M's
Peppermint Meltaways
No Bake Cookies
Peanut Blossoms
Peanut Butter Fudge
Salted Nut Chews
Sugar Cookies - Trees for sure, maybe Mittens and Hats too.
A second style Tree shaped sugar cookie
Molasses Cookies
Macarons
Chocolate Chip Cookies with Red and Green M&M's

Reposting an older blog post page because I already have links included on that year's list and I don't feel like taking all the time/work to link anything right now. PAGE: https://www.housewifebarbie.com/p/blog-page_2.html

Almond Macrons
Mexican Wedding Cakes (or Russian Tea Cakes)
Fruitcake Bars (no bake)
Molasses Ginger Cookies
Homemade Chocolate Truffles
Cream Horns (easy with Puff Pastry!)
Cut out Sugar Cookies with an easy Glaze
Peppermint Meltaway Cookies with Crushed Candy Canes
Homemade Girl Scout Style Thin Mints
M&M Kiss Pretzels
Cream Wafers
Peppermint Pretzels
Candy Striped Cookie Sticks
Melted Snowman Cookies
Stenciled Icing Sugar Cookies
Peanut Blossoms
Peanut Butter Fudge
Sugar Cookies: Snowflakes with Edible Glitter
Red Velvet Cake Balls
Gateau Bon Bons
Swedish Rosettes
Peppermint Teacakes
Salted Nut Chews
Sugar Free, Low Carb Cinnamon Spice Cookies
Sugar Free Mexican Wedding Cakes
Mini Peanut Blossom Muffin Tin Cookies
Mittens and Winter Hat Sugar Cookies

Knafeh Bars (the viral Dubai Bars with Pistachio Cream Centers)

2024-10-28T17:17:00.002-05:00

So apparently there was a 'viral' recipe on social media this Fall. I had no idea. My personality is such that I don't pay attention to what people are doing - I rarely use social media and frankly, I'm too dang busy in my own life to bother. I actually stumbled upon this fad honestly - and accidentally.

Two things. First, I've been wanting to find a cheap 'candy bar' style silicone mold to have on hand. Have wanted this for about 2 years. Didn't want one bad enough to buy one, but I'm part of a product review group and after a year of waiting, searching, keeping my eye out and looking, I stumbled upon one! Ordered it post haste.

Within a couple weeks I stumbled upon shredded phyllo dough. Yes please! I LOVE phyllo dough and had never heard of nor seen shredded. But I had it, so I had to find something to do with it. That is when I put those words into a search engine and realized there was something called a Knafeh Bar - or a Dubai Bar. It used shredded phyllo AND it used a silicone candy bar mold. BINGO.

I also happened to have pistachio's on hand (always) and cream and other ingredients (always). It was meant to be.

My pistachios were roasted and salted. I simply ran them under water to get rid of some of the salt. Next time I probably won't bother - I'll just not put any salt in the rest of the filling to make up for it.

I thought this was pretty cool... My stick of butter said it was 113 grams on the wrapper. I wondered if it would really be exactly that? I weighed it.

IT WAS. Exactly 113 grams in one stick of butter. I didn't actually need exactly one stick, I'm just a geek and wanted to weigh it.

The shredded phyllo (fillo) has to be cooked with butter to make it brown and crisp.

This is the mixing of the pistachio cream with the crispy phyllo.

Getting ready to mix the candy bar filling - the phyllo, pistachio cream, vanilla, peanut butter, extra chopped pistachios...

The candy bar mold was already lined/filled with a thin chocolate layer. This is the molds being filled.

By this point I was over it... I sent this message to my family.

But in the end... they turned out quite well! Here I am un molding them... they were dusted with edible gold dusting powder and drizzled with a tiny bit of green as well.

Taste test..

Bagged up and ready for my family to enjoy.

Knafeh Bars

In a candy bar silicone mold, dust a little bit of edible gold luster dust and green if you have it or use white chocolate colored green and drizzle that. Or just use luster dust and forget the green - not sure why people insist there should be green. Gold is just fine and looks pretty.

Brush or pour/spread melted chocolate of choice. I used what I had on hand and mixed a bunch different bits.
Chocolate almond bark, sugar free chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips and some chocolate bars from Turkey.

Pistachio Cream

2/3 c pistachios
1/3 c sugar
1/2 c chopped up white chocolate or white chocolate melts
1/3 c butter
1/2 c cream or half and half
vanilla
almond extract
salt

Put into a blender and blend smooth. Chill until needed if you've made it ahead of time.

Crisp the Shredded Phyllo

In a pan on the stove, heat some butter.
Add the shredded phyllo (kataifi)
Cook and stir until it's golden brown and crispy. Set aside.

Filling

1 c shredded phyllo (kataifi)
1/2 cup of the pistachio cream you made
1 T peanut butter
2 T extra chopped pistachios

Fill the chocolate lined bar molds with the filling, be sure to flatten and smooth the filling and leave enough room to top with more melted chocolate. When the bars are topped and you can't see any filling - it's totally encased in the chocolate in the molds, place them in the refrigerator to harden.

When the molds are cold and the chocolate hard, pop them out of the molds.

Pork and Lemon Ragu with Pasta

2024-09-11T10:58:00.005-05:00

The photo above is when it had started to thicken upon standing a few minutes, but wasn't the finished product. I could have taken a better 'finished' photo but honestly I was hungry, it smelled (and tasted) so good I started to eat it, and didn't really care about getting a better picture. It's just for my personal blog - I don't make any money for posting recipes I make, and I have no income from the time I spend on this site, so... yeah. LOL.

I would normally use a different pasta with this one, but for a number of crazy things going on in our life right now, I have cleared out the pantry except for mere basics and all I have to choose from currently is macaroni shapes and spaghetti shapes. So, I chose spaghetti this time.

Pork and Lemon Ragu with Pasta

Bacon, cooked and crumbled or use real bacon crumbles bought - about 1/3 cup
olive oil
1 lg onion, diced
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 t salt
1 t thyme
1 t fresh black pepper
1/2 - 3/4 c cream or half and half
1 1/2 - 2 c water
1 1/2 lb. boneless pork roast
1 t dried lemon peel
1/4 c lemon juice
12 oz. pasta of choice
Romano or Parmesan cheese

In an oven proof pan with a lid, cook the bacon bits in the oil until they start to crisp up, add the onion and cook til soft and turning golden. Add the garlic and salt, pepper and thyme. Add the cream and water and whisk/stir. Add the pork roast, cutting it into half or even quarters. Bring to a boil and then remove, put the lid on and place into a 350 degree oven. Roast until tender (about 1 1/2 hours).

Add the lemon juice and zest. Let it set as you cook the pasta. When the pasta is almost done, use two large forks to pull apart the pork into shredded pieces. Add the pasta to the sauce reserving just a bit of the pasta water in case you want to thin the sauce. It should have a bit of liquid at this point as it will thicken as it stands. Let it thicken about 10-15 minutes before serving. You can stir in a bit of the pasta water to the leftovers before refrigerating, as it will absorb the liquid and become really thick by the next day.

Stirring in the half and half or cream to the onion/bacon mixture
Adding the pork to cook
Shredding the pork

Add the pasta and cheese (I used quesa fresca as I didn't have Romano on hand) It will be VERY LIQUID at this point as it hasn't thickened up at all yet. It will in the next 10-15 minutes.

Using up Fruit "Everything" Pie with a Crumble Topping and Traditional Pumpkin Pie

2024-08-18T09:06:00.006-05:00

Everything Fruit Pie with a Cinnamon Crumble Topping

This pie is to 'use up' lots of different fruit. Over the course of a couple months I'd toss 'extra' fruit into the freezer. I also had extra jars of home canned apples I wanted to use up. I also had bought our favorite frozen fruit mixture at the store many times, but the peaches in frozen fruit mixes are always terrible - never ripe or sweet - so the peaches area always picked out and tossed into a ziplock in the freezer to use for other things. Like this pie.

Into a big pan on the stove I added a bunch of fruit. Everything I had on hand that needed to be used that could go into a fruit pie. This time the mixture was/is: apples, cranberries, strawberries, rhubarb, peaches, mango and... maybe something else. I can't remember. Brought to a boil, then reduce to be simmered on the stove with sugar and cinnamon added, along with a cornstarch/water slurry to thicken. I didn't want to use it right then so I let it cool, refrigerated it, and put it into a food sealed bag and popped it back into the freezer.

I tossed the bag into the refrigerator last week to thaw and sit until needed. Yesterday was a pie making day.

1 unbaked pie crust
Crumble topping (recipe below)
Fruit of choice, with sweetener and flour to thicken (you could also use just apples, apples and cranberries, blueberries, etc)

Topping:
12 T sugar
6 T butter
1/2 c flour
6 T quick cook oatmeal
3 t cinnamon
1/4 t dried lemon zest

Crumbled together with your fingers, a fork, or pulsed a few times in a food processor. Crumble onto your unbaked pie and bake as directed.

Baked at 350 for about 45 minutes. Cool completely.

Pumpkin Pie

2 eggs
3/4 c brown sugar
5 oz. evaporated milk
1 1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt
1/4 t ginger
1/8 t nutmeg
(or just use about 2 t pumpkin pie spice instead of all the above)
2 T boiling water
1 t vanilla extract
1 2/3 c pumpkin puree
1/4 c half and half
1 pie shell, unbaked

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Put the pie crust into your pan.
In a food processor or a bowl, beat the eggs, add the sugar, milk, spices and boiling water. Beat. Add the pumpkin and half and half, beat again briefly just to smooth. Pour into your pie shell.

Bake 15 minutes at 425. Lower the temp to 300 and continue to bake until the center is 'set' - about 30 minutes. Cool completely. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Flat Bread or Naan Style Bread

2024-06-28T08:11:00.003-05:00

For many reasons and many things going on in our life right now I've not had Our Daily Bread in the refrigerator for quite some time. Yesterday morning however, I decided to make up another batch. I left it on the counter to work its magic for a few hours, then popped it into the refrigerator to use it as some point but was too busy to think about it at the time.

Last night I glanced at the George Foreman grill on the counter and had the idea that my bread dough, made on the George Foreman might make a delicious flat bread or naan style bread! I grabbed the bucket out of the fridge, formed 4 little mounds of dough on a piece of parchment and let them sit while I did other things. About an hour later I came back and plopped a piece of dough on the hot griddle and closed it. Upon opening, I had a perfect hot flat bread.

I sent off photos and an explanation to all three of my young adult kids so they could make them if they wished, as it was just so easy. And adding it here so they can find it later.

Use the Bucket Bread recipe.
Grab a handful of dough about the size of your palm.
Place it on a piece of greased parchment, foil or plastic.
Let it warm and/or rise a bit for about an hour.
Heat the George Foreman grill. Spray or oil the grill.
Place the dough on the grill and close the top, not squishing it down, just close it over the dough and leave it.
When the lights heat up to show it's ready again, open, and remove the flat bread.
Serve with butter or with garlic butter.

Grilled Shrimp and Butter Rice

2024-06-15T21:36:00.002-05:00

So simple and not flashy but oh so good.

Tonight I went to the freezer and spied a bag of large shrimp. Yes, shrimp sounds fine. Thawed under water and rinsed, I decided to season with some olive oil, fresh cracked black pepper, ground coriander and garlic salt.

While I let that sit and marinate for a bit, I started some rice in a saucepan on the stove. 1 cup rice to 2 cups water - (I used about 1 3/4 c rice and scooped in a quick 3 3/4 ish of water); bring to a boil, reduce and simmer 15-20 minutes. Because we are usually low-carb, and keto, having rice is a nice treat - a change of pace. We are trying to 'use up' everything in the pantry and freezers, so we have been eating foods that we normally don't have.

While it simmered I grilled the shrimp, which only takes a few minutes for each side. (I threaded them on metal skewers.)

When the shrimp was done, I removed them from the skewers, and added about 1/2 c butter to the rice, along with a heavy dose of garlic salt.

This simple meal was so good! Simple, filling and oh-so yum.

Just another Mexican Casserole (or nacho dip) featuring ground beef, refried beans and sausage

2024-05-09T16:30:00.002-05:00

The plan tonight was to use up some of the homemade sausage in the freezer, the last glass jar of homemade salsa, a half round of my favorite queso that I had food sealed and in the fridge as well as some cheddar from the deep freezer that tastes great, but cheddar does get 'crumbly' after frozen. I added to that some refried beans, black olives and was able to empty the last of the homemade taco sauce.

I originally got this recipe when I was 14 years old and was babysitting for a woman who made it and had me bake it for her 3 kids while I was babysitting. I loved it so much I had her write down the recipe for my Mom. She then made it regularly as we all loved it - and I continued making it for my own family once I grew up and married and had kids.

It's a casserole and/or a dip for tortilla chips. You can also put it in a flour tortilla. Since I'm trying to use UP groceries and not BUY ANY... I don't have tortilla chips so we are having it as a casserole - which is my favorite way to eat it anyway!

Mexican Casserole or Dip

1 lb. ground beef browned with 1 small onion, chopped
1 can refried beans
1 c ground and browned sausage
4 c shredded cheddar cheese
1 small can green chilies, chopped
1 - 16 oz. container sour cream
1 jar salsa or taco sauce
*optional - black olives, green olives, sliced
*optional - 1 1/2 c guacamole or avocado dip

Spread the refried beans on the bottom of a sprayed casserole dish for a meal or if you are using this recipe as a dip, spread it thinly on the bottom of a larger pan of your choice - (pizza pan, 9X13, anything you wish!) Brown the ground beef and/or sausage with the onion. Place half into a greased casserole dish or if you are using for a dip, use all of it over the refried beans in the larger pan. Sprinkle with half the cheese. Add the chilies and/or jalapenos, the sour cream, the salsa/sauce and the rest of the cheese in layers. Top with olives if you love them!

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes for a thinner pan and bake 45 minutes if you have a thick casserole dish. When the cheese is melted and it's hot all the way through, remove and serve as a dip or let set for 5-8 minutes to 'set up' when serving as a casserole. It may be more runny when hot straight from the oven and it sets up (like lasagna does) when left to stand and cool a bit. We can never wait and don't care - we dig right in!

Here are photos of what I think might be the first (1st) time I posted the recipe on An American Housewife - these were from March of 2011. You can see what it looks like when it's not all mixed up and dished, ready to eat.