What to get the Kansas Girl!

Cookbooks! Its really not Christmas without one of my family members or more buying me a couple of good cookbooks. I usually assemble a list of cookbooks that I am interested in but would not purchase on my own. This year I received two cookbooks "America's Best Lost Recipes", and "Modern Classics 1" By Donna Hay. I have already baked a cake out of the Lost Recipes book, 7UP Cake, I made it for my husbands birthday. The other gift I received was a digital camera so I will also be posting more photos of everything I cook.

Christmas Dinner: The rest of the story..

I actually did make something, the "drinky drink" Christmas Punch Sangria:
1 Orange cut up into wedges
(add 1/2 of the orange then some ice, then the other half of orange to the pitcher)
1/2 Cup of Sugar (to 1 cup if you like it sweeter)
16 oz of Cranberry Juice
1 Bottle of white sweet wine
Mix together and serve.

Other items made:
Mashed Potatoes
Gravy (made from a trial packet Watkins brown gravy) we don't normally make gravy from a packet, but we had an opprotunity to try this one.) ** see review
Cherry Wheat Bread Rolls (my husband had made them for Christmas Eve Dinner)

Watkins Brown Gravy Packet Review:
It was slightly better than gravy made from a jar or packet from the store. It was a little on the salty side, which is a trait of pre-packed sauces. Other than that it tasted like gravy, thickened up nicely, and went well with the potatoes. It would be good in pinch, or if you want beef gravy but don't have any broth or meaty bits to make it out of.

Christmas Dinner: Mothers Creamy Cheesy Corn

Alright, so its not really my moms recipe, but she has mastered it and changed it over the years. She was given the recipie from Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue of Kansas City. The original recipe can be found at: http://www.jackstackbbq.com/article.asp_Q_ai_E_12_A_Recipes appears under Cheesy Corn Bake.

Christmas Dinner: Stuffed Pork Chops

We are having a "traditional" Christmas feast on Saturday with my cousins, Aunt and Uncle. For Christmas Day we decided to mix it up a bit and have something nice, but a little different. My dad made stuffed pork chops he loosely followed the recipe in "America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook".

Christmas Morning Breakfast

Mom always makes a great Christmas morning breakfast, she makes bubble loaf, and breakfast casserole. It is a perfect combination and it can be made up the night before an popped in the oven to bake whiles we all open our Christmas presents.

Spicy Thai

Well, it proved to be yet another snowy day in Kansas. I feel like I'll never get to go Christmas Shopping, sorry everyone the presents may be delayed. On the upside I have had plenty of time to cook. Tonight to heat things up a bit, we had

Stir Fried Thai Chicken

2 Chicken Breasts thinly sliced, it is easiest to do this when they are partially frozen.
Marinate them for 15m in:
1/4 C of rice vinegar
2 T of Brown Sugar
2 t of red curry paste
1/8 of a t of red pepper flakes (or less if you like it not-so-hot)

Whiles thats marinating chop up
1 Onion
1 C of Carrots

Start to cook onion in skillet/wok
cook chicken then remove, then cook
with 1 t of oil, after it starts to soften add carrots,
let cook until carrots are soft
add back chicken
add 1 can of Water Chestnuts
add 1 sm can of Pineapple
add 1 T of Fish sauce
add 1/2 C of light coconut
stir and cook until warmed through, and sauce is thicker,

Serve with rice, and enjoy!

Pumpkin Bread

This snowy Saturday morning, I am so tired of this unpleasant weather. I made Pumpkin Bread, it was quick and easy to bake whiles I prepared to head off to work another Graduation.

Liquids:
1 Can of Pumpkin
3 Eggs
2/3 C Oil
2 C Sugar
Blend in mixer then slowly add flour mix,

Flour Mix:
1/4 t of nutmeg
1/4 t of ground cloves
1 t cinnamon
1 t baking powder
2 t baking soda
3 C flour

Fills 2 reg loaf pans, aprox 1 hr at 350deg F.

Oatmeal Pecan Pie (again!)

Tonight I made the Oatmeal Pecan Pie that was made for Thanksgiving, only I added 1/2 C of chocolate chips, to the recipe and I must say it made what I thought was already a pretty perfect pie, even better. Nothing better than oatmeal, pecans and chocolate to make the holiday better. We've been busy eating leftover Tacos (which we made Sunday), and eating leftover Chicken from Saturday, and last night we went to Olive Garden and split the Tour of Italy, and pigged out on salad. It seems that when I eat cookies, I get really hungry for salad. Tonight I did however cook dinner, we had Honey Sesame Chicken, which we used a sauce packet to make. It was good, and nice change from leftovers. Tomorrow night I will be working late, and with the weather being snowy on Saturday its hard to say what I will cook this weekend, but stay tuned!

Cold Day Cookies

It is a very cold-snowy-icy weekend in Kansas perfect for holiday baking. So, that is how I spent my Saturday... in the kitchen knee deep in sugar, butter, and flour.

We started out the morning with

Peanut Butter Balls:
3 C Rice Krispys
1 box of Powdered Sugar
1/2 C of Margarine
2 C of peanut butter

-- Mix in bow, until fully incorporated.

Ball aprox 1-2 T of peanut mix on to lined cookie sheet (wax paper works best)
Set aside, or in fridge.

Melt in double boiler
8oz Hershey Bar
6oz of Chocolate Chips
1/2 Stick of Paraffin wax (yes odd, but it works)

One by one coat peanut butter balls in mixture and let cool.

Then we made -

Holiday Oatmeal Cookies

Mix together in a bowl:
1 3/4 C of All Purpose Flour
3/4 t of baking soda
3/4 t of baking powder
1/2 t of salt (we used a pinch)
1/2 t of ground cinnamon
1/2 t of ground nutmeg
1/2 t of orange zest
1/4 t of grated ginger

Mix together in mixer:
1 Stick of Unsalted Butter
1 Stick of Maragrine
(soften)

add
1 1/2 C packed dark brown sugar
1/4 C of sugar

after the sugar and butter mix are creamed and fluffy.
add
2 Eggs
2 1/2 t of Vanilla

slowly add flour mixture
then fold in
3 1/2 C of Oatmeal
1 C of raisins
1 C of chopped Pecans

Bake on lined cookie sheet at 350deg 8-15 min depending on size, ours were big cookies and took 15m, smaller cookies would take less time.

and if that wasn't fun... we then made..

Gingerbread Snowflakes

in bowl mix:
3 C of all purpose flour
1 1/2 t of baking powder
3/4 t of baking soda
pinch of salt
1 T of ground ginger
1 3/4 t of ground cinnamon
1/4 t of ground cloves

in blender mix:
6 T unsalted butter softened
3/4 C dk brown sugar
1 Egg

add to butter mix:
1/2 C molasses
2 t of vanilla
1 t of orange zest

mix in part of the flour mixture into the butter mixture in mixer, then kneed the rest in on counter top. Roll up into Wax paper and chill in the fridge, for at least an hour.

roll out on powdered sugar surface (to prevent sticking), use snowflake cutter to cut out, and put on lined baking sheet, and bake at 375 deg, for 7-10 min.

Whiles that was chilling we made dinner, (and a trip to Wal-Mart)

Dinner:

Baked Tomato Chicken with White Beans

Heat 2 T of Oil in Dutch Oven
add 1/2 of Onion, chopped in large chunks
add 4 cellary stalks, in large chunks, about in 1-2in in length.
let cook for a few min
then add
Italain Seasoning Mix 1 T
Thyme 1 t

add
2 leg Chicken Leg Quarters

1 C of Chicken Broth
1/2 of pre-made Spaghetti sauce with tomato chunks, we used what we had in the fridge.
add to the sauce 1/2 c of red wine

simmer of a few min on stove top, and then bake in 450deg oven, in the dutch oven with lid on, for 30-45 min, then we added in 1 can of butter beans rinsed, let set warm on stove top for 10min.

Served over pasts, 1 serving is half of a leg quarter.

Yum. Now back to cookies...

Raspberry Strippers (chicka-chicka-ba-wa) as the husband says. :)
From Cooking Light, go to www.cookinglight.com and search recipes for "Raspberry Strippers"

then we made Basic Icebox Sugar Cookies, again Cooking Light. (For those of you that know me and have had "my sugar cookies" this is not it.) This was just quick and easy, and not nearly as fatty or ahh I mean YUMMY!

It was a fun day for my husband and I, and it kept the house warm.

Tis' The Season

Its that time of year, busy days, open houses, treat days, and then lets not forget all that holiday baking you do to take to all those functions. When your running around like a chicken with your head cut off it can be hard to squeeze in dinner. Which has been my dilemma lately. We have eaten lots of left overs and quick meals. This weekend we plan to make up some dishes in advance for the next week. As that happens I will put that up, other than that its been a little busy to do much cooking this week.

"Grilled" Burritos

Tonight's dinner was a re-mix of leftover enchilada meat mixed up with Beans and tomatoes for a quick and easy dinner!

Heat in Sauce Pan
Left over browned hamburger (enchilada meat, if you don't have any, these are great without the meat)
1 Can of Kruners of Colorado Pre-Seasoned Black Beans
1 Can of Rotel Tomatoes
1/2 sm bag of Corn

Warm up Tortilla shells, its just me and my husband and I always keep reduced fat, soft taco sized tortilla shells on hand.
So I heated up 4.

Sprinkle on tortilla reduced fat Mexican blend cheese

Spoon on warmed Bean Mix

Wrap up in Tortilla and put seam side down on Non-Stick Skillet,
until browned

then flip burrito over and "grill" on other side until browned.

Serve.

Sunday Morning Breakfast: French Toast

French Toast is a simple breakfast to reduce the fat in, and still enjoy all the flavor. This is one of the few times I don't mind egg substitute, in some dishes egg substitute can have a rubbery texture and in this case you don't even notice it.

Reduced Fat French Toast
2 sl of bread per person cut in half corner to corner (it fits in the round pans better, and makes it look like more on the plate) now here's the trick.. its all about the bread you use.
Some suggestions:
Sarah Lee has some great breads out there that are full of flavor, Cinnamon Swirl, Brown Sugar Cinnamon, Blueberry Crumble, and etc..
Orowheat also has some great whole grain breads as well like Oatnut (one of my favorite everyday breads).
This morning I had Sarah Lee Brown Sugar Cinnamon, the breads from Sarah Lee Freeze well, I am not big on freezing bread as I think it can make it taste soggy and flat. However the flavored breakfast breads freeze up well, so if your a small family you can freeze some for another day.

Mix in pie plate or shallow dish:
1/2 C Egg Substitute such as Egg Beaters. (1/2 C is one of the little single serving cups of Egg Beaters, these also freeze well.)
1 t of Cinnamon Sugar per person
1 t of Vanilla

Spray Non-Stick Skillet with Crisco Butter Flavor Spray or other...

Coat each half slice of bread with egg mixture and cook in medium temperature skillet until browned then flip and brown on other side.

4 Half Slices per person, 2 T of Cool Whip Lite, and Syrup, we also serve ours with 1/2 a banana sliced on the side. My husband also commented that Honey works well if you don't like Syrup.

Beef Stew

It was a cool dreary day in Kansas, and this was a good stick-to-the-ribs stew.
I made it up as I went along but here is the general guide. If you like more veggies, add more veggies same goes for seasoning. I am a real general cook, I cook to make it taste good to me and my husband. I make notes as I go along, and journal any good recipies for future use.

1 LB of Roast, cubed
1 T of Flour
dash of pepper and smoked salt
coat meat with four and pepper/salt

Heat
2 T of Olive Oil in Dutch Oven
add 1 t of Garlic

Once warm add meat mixture, and brown meat (letting the brown bits stick to the bottom),
add
1
1/2 of med onion sliced
and 1 C of Red Wine (whatever you like best)

Stir to remove brown bits

add
2 Cans of Broth Slowly, and stir
simmer with lid on for at least 30min, but can go longer on lower temp.
1-2C of Water, less if you don't let it reduce before adding tomato paste
add 1 Bay Leaf
2 t of Rosemary
1 t of Basil

remove lid after this step if you want to reduce down on low heat for about an hour

add
1 can of Tomato Paste and wisk in
1 1/2 cups (aprox) of cubed potatoes
1 cup of (aprox) of sliced carrots

bring to a boil and then simmer until potatoes are ready.

If not very thick, add Corn Starch Slurry (1 cup water + 1 T of Corn Starch) sometimes I use more cornstarch if needed.

Stir in and boil, then remove from heat, and serve.

We served over egg noodles. YUM!

Friday Night Dinner: Beef Stroganoff

For Friday Night Dinner I made Beef Stroganoff, this recipe comes from one of my favorite books for classic recipes "The American Century Cookbook" by Jean Anderson. You might recognize Jean Anderson, as she did the "The New Doubleday Cookbook" and several other quality cookbooks. This book is really a great reference for learning more about certain recipes as she incorporates information on the origin of recipes and how some got to be really popular. The Beef Stroganoff recipe is no exception, as on pg 124 is the recipe and on page 125 is information about its origins. Its a great cookbook, at a really reasonable price, however before I purchased it, I checked it out at the Library several times.

Beef Stroganoff from "The American Century Cookbook"

Makes 4 Servings

11/2 Lbs of beef tenderloin, trimmed of fat and cut into 2x1/2x1/2 inch strips
1/2 t salt (or to taste)
1/2 t of black pepper
1 lg yellow onion
1/2 stick of butter
1 C of beef broth
2 t of Dijon mustard
1/3 C of sour cream (at room temp)

1. Spread tenderloin on wax-paper-lined counter, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss well to mix. Cover with onion slices and toss well again. Cover loosely with wax paper and let marinate 1 hr. (I have to admit I skip this step)

2 Melt 2 T of butter in large heavy skillet over moderately low heat and blend in flour. Add broth and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened and smooth -- about 3 minutes; blend in bustard and set off heat.

3. In second large heavy skillet, melt remaining 2 T of butter over moderately high heat. And tenderloin and onion and brown well--8 to 10 minutes.

4. Add browned tenderloin--but not onion--to first skillet, set over low heat and simmer, stirring now and then, 10 minutes.

5. Off heat, smooth in sour cream. Taste for salt and pepper adjust as needed, and serve with noodles.

Quick Low Fat Tip:
Now it calls for Beef Tenderloin, but a good Sirloin Steak will work and save a little on the pocket book. I usually use the thin cut and the cut up in a nice size. I also use low fat sour cream, and reduced sodium beef broth. It dose make a nice sized 4 serving for 4 adults toss with bag of "No-Yolks", good with a side of green veggies, peas or green beans.

Also you'll notice there isn't the traditional mushrooms or "cream of mushroom soup" (yuck!). As Jean Anderson explains on pg 125, the original Russian dish did not include mushrooms. They didn't make their first appearance until "The Joy of Cooking" (1943) cookbook.