Archive | June 2012

Toasted Kale

Jun24

Kale, a member of the cabbage family, is loaded with nutrition and known for it’s cancer fighting properties.  Kale is also difficult to eat – the leaves are thick, fibrous, bitter and tough, so of course it is good for you!  A fun way to eat kale is toasting it.  You can use any type of kale or other thick leafy vegetable.

The recipe is easy:  Take a bunch of kale and COMPLETELY remove the stems.  Fold the leaves in half and slice off the entire stem, which is quite bitter.  Toss the leaves with olive oil, salt and any kind of seasoning you like.  Usually I use garlic powder, but today I had onion powder.  Arrange on a cookie sheet in a single layer.  It is important that the leaves not overlap or they won’t toast properly.   Bake in a 425 degree oven for 15-20 min.  The leaves should be completely dehydrated and crunchy when you take them out of the oven.  Allow to cool and enjoy!

Crunchy Kale!

Homemade Cheese Crackers

Jun24

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love cheese crackers.  I can’t keep them in the house or I will eat the entire box.  I found this recipe for homemade cheese crackers on Rural Housewife last night.  I could hardly wait until morning so I could whip up a batch!

This recipe is easy to make using the food processor

You simply put all the ingredients in the food processor and pulse until it makes a ball of dough.  Then you roll out and bake.  I made mine a bit too thick, but they were still light and crunchy.  I lightly salted the tops on the second batch.  Yummy.

Not exactly uniform squares but they still taste good!

 Here is the recipe:

INGREDIENTS
1½ cups (6 oz) grated extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened and cut into pieces
¾ cup flour, plus more for dusting
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon Smoked Paprika
1 tablespoon milk

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 350˚.
  2. Put everything except the milk in a food processor. Pulse the processor, 5 seconds at a time, for about 5 or 6 times, until the dough is in coarse crumbs.
  3. Add the milk and process until the dough gathers together in a ball.
  4. Roll the dough out on a floured board with a rolling pin that has been floured until it is about 1/8 inch thick.
  5. Cut the dough into 1-inch squares with a sharp knife or pizza cutter. You can put a bit of flour on the blade of the knife to keep it from sticking. Use a toothpick or skewer to poke a hole in the center of each cracker.
  6. Place the crackers at least ¼ inch apart on parchment paper on a baking sheet.
  7. Bake for 12 – 15 minutes until the edges are just starting to brown.
  8. Put the baking sheet on a rack and let the crackers cool completely.
  9. Eat! Or store in a covered container or ziploc to eat within a few days.

NOTES
Substitute other cheeses for the cheddar for a different snack every time!

Convenience Mixes

Jun24

I just found the neatest website from the University of Maine. The nutrition specialists at the university developed several home-made convenience recipes.  Instead of buying expensive, prepackaged spice and baking mixes full of “who knows what”, you can make your own at home for a lot less.  It is nice to know that I can control what goes in my family’s food!

The All Purpose mix makes over 25 different recipes, kind of like Bisquik.  In addition, they have mixes for the following:

  1. All-Purpose Convenience Mix
  2. Whole Wheat Convenience Mix
  3. Corn Bread Convenience Mix
  4. Rolled Oats Convenience Mix
  5. Hot Cocoa Convenience Mix
  6. Convenience Spaghetti Sauce Seasoning Mix
  7. Convenience Taco Seasoning Mix
  8. Convenience Chili Seasoning Mix
  9. Convenience Meat Loaf or Meatball Seasoning Mix
  10. Convenience Seasoning Mixes For Rice
  11. Convenience Seasoned Coating Mix for Meat, Fish, and Poultry
  12. Convenience Seasoned Cornmeal Coating Mix for Meat, Fish, and Poultry
  13. Convenience Salt-Free Seasoning Mix
  14. Basic Oil and Vinegar Dressing Mix
  15. High-Fiber Convenience Snack Mix

Check out this website!

What’s Cookin’

Jun23

My husband and I both work full-time, so I don’t often have the opportunity to cook a really nice meal  for my family until the weekend.  Today, the dinner menu is as follows:

Mediterranean Baked Fish

Squash Casserole

Crash Hot Potatoes

Roasted Garlic Bread

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

I realize that pumpkin cookies are not exactly in season, but I saw some at the store today and remembered how much my children love them.  Plus I had all the ingredients except the spice cake and I saw a box on sale…so why not?

pumpkin chocolate chip cookes

These cookies only take 3 ingredients!

The store was charging $4 for only 8 cookies which is an astonishing price when you consider they only take 3 ingredients.  I used one 15 oz can of pumpkin, one box of spice cake mix and one bag of semi-sweet chips.  The bag pictured is 32 oz, but you only need the regular sized bag.

Pour the cake mix into a bowl and add the canned pumpkin.  Mix thoroughly with an electric mixer.  Because the pumpkin is thick, it takes longer to incorporate it into the cake mix.  Do not under mix!  Next, stir in the chips.  Don’t use the mixer or it will destroy the chips.

Use a scoop for a more uniform sized cookie

I used a one ounce scoop rather than a spoon to measure out the batter.  This helps the cookies bake evenly and makes a nicer presentation.  If you’ve ever had a batch of cookies where some are underdone and others are burned, your varying cookie size was probably to blame.

The cookie batter is somewhere between the consistency of a cake batter and a cookie dough.  It is sticky, so be patient as you wait for it to fall out of the scoop.  I’ve read suggestions about spraying the scoop with cooking spray, but it didn’t work for me.  To test for doneness, do a toothpick test just like you would for a regular cake.  If you hit a chocolate chip, scoot your toothpick over a little and try again.  My cookies took 15 min to bake.

SUCCESS!

This simple recipe makes a little more than 3 dozen cookies.  Pretty good for a cheap box of cake mix, a can of pumpkin and some                chocolate chips!  It cost about $4 to make almost 40 cookies as opposed to the 8 cookies for $4 at the store.

SQUASH CASSEROLE

Dinner was a success!  My oldest son had a friend over, and he said that the squash tasted like “pancakes”.  I guess that’s good!

The squash recipe came from Allrecipes.com.  I was worried once I had put the dish together – would the cheddar cheese and butter overwhelm the flavor of the squash I had just worked so hard to grow?  I had seen other recipes with cream soups, sour cream, etc and I knew they would be too heavy.  Luckily the flavor of my squash came through and the dish was delicious.

squash and onions mingling in my fry pan

The recipe called for water in the pan to steam and soften the squash but I was afraid it would make the dish mushy and too wet.  Instead, I heated the squash and onion on low in a covered pan.  The squash softened but didn’t need to be drained at all.  I hope this helped retain more vitamins.  I also saw a post suggesting the seeds and soft center of the squash be removed to make a firmer dish.  I left it in and am happy that I did.  After all, I worked hard to grow every bit of my squash.  Why waste it?

Ignore the extra brown part in the bottom of the pan.

Next time I will use a smaller pan and grease the bottom.  An oval casserole dish will work well.  The mixture wasn’t enough to cover a 9×13 dish so the bottom was overdone a bit.  Also, I may take the foil off for the last 5 minutes or so to help crisp up the top.

MEDITERRANEAN FISH

Ready for the Oven!

The Mediterranean Fish was a big hit.  I knew it would be since I made it one other time and the family ate it up.   The recipe calls for orange roughy, but I can never find any so I use Tilapia.  I didn’t even get a chance to take a photo of the finished product!  It was all gone in a matter of minutes.

CRASH HOT POTATOES

Smash those taters!

I originally saw this recipe on Pinterest.  Here is the original post.  I had too many potatoes for my pan, but I made them fit since the oven was already crowded with squash and fish dishes.   Next time I will cook them a bit longer so they are more crispy.  The rest of the meal was done so I pulled them out about 7 minutes too soon.  They were still delicious and I will use the leftovers for breakfast tomorrow.

As if I need one more reason to eat potatoes…

My Second Harvest

Jun22

My first harvest of one cherry tomato was noted in a previous post.  I’m happy to report that my second harvest is much larger.  I was watering my garden this afternoon when I noticed a small, yellow crookneck squash peeking through the leaves.  When I moved the leaves to take closer look, this is what I saw!

My first squash! I’m so proud

 

You can’t see it here, but the WASPS were also interested in my squash

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Papa Squash, Mama Squash and Baby Squash

 

There are several more squash growing and many squash flowers that will also turn into yummy veges!

Review of Boca Crumbles

Jun11

I’ve tried to incorporate more meatless dishes into my diet, but I still crave the meaty texture and taste of ground beef.  One night, when making chili for my family, I discovered that I was out of ground beef.  Just as I was about to ask my husband to run to the store, I spied my bag of Boca Ground Crumbles in the freezer.  Dare I try to sneak soy crumbles past my picky husband and kids?  Sure!

A meat substitute made with soy.

I make a one-pot chili, so I dumped the bag in and let it heat with my usual ingredients.  The extra red color of the dish made me a bit nervous, but I received RAVE reviews. I waited until after the kids ate seconds and licked their bowls clean to announce that they had just enjoyed a vegan dish.  Boy were they surprised!  They even offered to eat more vegan dishes – but only if I am able to sneak them in.  Victory!

I also used these crumbles to make myself a burrito.  They are chewy like ground beef and have a good texture.  The crumbles are also seasoned – they would have to be since the soy itself would have little or no flavor.  I was worried that the seasoning would overpower or alter the chili’s flavor, but it didn’t.  Be aware this product may make your soups or stews a darker, red color.   You cannot pack the crumbles into patties or balls – they are crumbles only.  There are other products you can shape, or you can buy preformed patties.  Overall a thumbs up!

The Amazing Skittles! And an Update on My Garden

Jun10

This is my cat, Skittles, being held by my wonderful daughter, Sarah.

Skittles

Sarah and my amazing cat, Skittles!

Skittles was practically born on my lap, which makes him a very special kitty.  Besides having an unusual swirling pattern on his side, which you really can’t see in this photo, he is a very chatty cat.  He likes to meow a LOT and he sounds like his mother, who is a Siamese cat.  If you’ve ever heard a Siamese cat meow, then you know what I mean.  It sounds like a baby crying.  He is an affectionate, cuddly animal, and my family just loves him.

Since I have several cats, I decided to do the responsible thing and get them fixed and declawed.  Almost soon as Skittles got home from the vet, he vanished.  We put up poster offering a reward, ads on Craigslist, notices in the paper, and filed a missing animal report with the shelter. While we received several calls, none of the kitties was Skittles.  We were heart-broken since it seemed unlikely he would survive in the wild with no claws.  It was a hard decision to declaw my cats – I never declawed a cat before but my house was being destroyed and one of the cats punctured my Pekingese’s eyes.  Imagine my guilt!  My kitten was out there defenseless!

Two months later my husband received a call from the shelter – they picked up a cat that might be Skittles!  I was doubtful and didn’t want to get my hopes up, but as soon as I saw the orange and white swirls on his side, I knew we had our cat back.  But poor Skittles was a mess!  He was a drooling, dirty bag of skin and bones with a mouth full of painful ulcers. The pound picked him up after someone called  reporting a drooling cat that might have rabies!  $300 in vet bills later, and he was back to his old self. No rabies, but he did have some kind of chemical or electrical burns in his mouth.  It took  few days for the other cats had to get used to him again, but it’s a kitty love-fest at my house once more.

cats on the bed

A Kitty Love Fest

 

I am posting this story on my blog so those who lose an animal don’t give up hope.  If my husband hadn’t put in a missing pet report at the shelter, they would have put him to sleep!  I don’t know how my very young kitty  survived all that time with no claws.  If Skittles could talk, I’m sure he would have quite a tale to tell.

 

 

 


Squash

Squash smothering my other plants!

 

An Update on My Garden: I think I made a logistical error when planting my squash.  They are obviously too close together and I worry they are smothering my other plants.  Next year I will give them their own garden box.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was really upset with my cats.  I had several pickling cucumbers bushes happily growing and thosenaughty cats covered them in dirt!  Just like they buried my radish plants and my multi colored carrots.  GRRRR!  My melons survived and I think I have a pumpkin vine as well.  Since the cats played with all my plant labels I don’t know what was where anyway.  It will be a surprise!

 

 

It was delicious!

 

 

And…the moment we’ve all been waiting for (at least I’ve been waiting for), my first tomato!  It came off a cherry tomato plant in the front yard.