Wild Rice Casserole

I've made this a couple times and it's always been well received with the boys. It's a good thing to make a day or two after I roast a chicken since it uses cooked chicken. I haven't roasted a chicken in a while, so I used a small package of chicken tenderloins that I had in the freezer and just boiled them up and tonight, I made it with fresh mushrooms (because I had them handy and they were going to go bad soon), a finely diced stalk of celery and 1/4 of an onion.

1 cup long grain and wild rice, uncooked
2 cups chicken broth (or water)
1/2 pound pork sausage (I use Farmland breakfast sausage)
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
small can sliced mushrooms with juice
1/2 tsp worcestershire
3 cups cooked chicken, chopped
3 slices bread, chopped
1/4 cup butter

In the microwave, make the rice with the chicken broth. Meanwhile, brown the sausage (with the onion, celery and fresh mushrooms if using). Break the sausage up into bits and drain the fat. Add the canned mushrooms (if using), cream of mushroom soup, and worcestershire. In a 2 qt casserole or 9x13 pan, mix the rice with the sausage mixture and the chicken. In the skillet that you browned the sausage in, melt the butter and lightly fry the bread crumbs. Place this on top of the casserole. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Hurry Up Cinnamon Rolls

This morning it's totally cold and icky outside. School is canceled it's so cold. The kids and I wanted something that would warm our hearts AND our bellies this morning. So, I made cinnamon rolls, but these aren't your normal take all day to make and rise cinnamon rolls! They bake up in a hurry since there is no yeast! I converted the recipe to use some wheat flour since I had it, but you could skip that and use all ap flour. Not really diet friendly, but completely yummy!

1 1/2 cups ap flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

2 Tbsp. sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup cold butter

Preheat oven to 375. Blend these ingredients together until crumbly, make well in center and add
1 cup cold milk. Mix dough, turn out of floured space and knead about 8-10 times.

Roll into 12" long recatangle about 1/3 inch thick.

Filling:

1/3 cup butter, softened or even half melted will work
1 cup packed brown sugar
3 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup raisins or currants if desired. (I don't add these)

Mix together first 3 ingredients, place 1 tsp. of filling in bottom of each of the 12 well sprayed or greased muffin tins.

Spread the remaining filling on the recangle of dough and roll as a jelly roll. Mark, then cut roll into 12 even rolls and place cut side down in the muffin tins. Bake for 15-20 min.

Top with powdered sugar or cream cheese frosting. Enjoy!

These are more like a biscuit than a yeast roll, but they are soooooooooooooo good!!

Homemade Yogurt

Here's the first installment of my inner Martha coming out. I was cruising the blog-o-sphere last week and found a recipe for homemade yogurt in the crockpot. My kids BIG HEART yogurt. All of them. So, since we go through 16 yogurt sticks and a 32 oz container of yogurt every week, I thought I'd make some. It didn't sound that hard...

Homemade Yogurt

8 cups (half gallon) milk....they recommend using whole til you get the hang of it then you can use a reduced fat version if you wish but people posted that they used 1% and skim with good results...more on this later)

1/2 cup yogurt starter (this can be 1/2 cup of active culture store-bought yogurt or yogurt starter from the health food store...guess which option I chose?)

Pour the milk into a crockpot (4 or 6 quart works well) and turn it on low for two and a half hours. Unplug and leave covered for 3 hours. Scoop out 2 cups of the milk and whisk in the yogurt starter. Pour that mixture back in with the milk and stir to combine. Replace lid and wrap the crockpot in a heavy bath towel. (I wrapped mine and put it in the oven that I had preheated to 100* and turned off) Then allow this to sit for 8-12 hours (go to bed, leave it alone). The longer it sits, the tangier it gets....so closer to 8 hours will be sweeter than 12 hours...TADA! Yogurt!! That's it. Easy peasy, right?! I thought so.



Riley was my first guinea pig and he didn't roll his nose up at it! Mine sat for close to 13 hours so it wasn't "sweet" but the soury tang was good. I used whole milk and it wasn't too thick, but wasn't watery either, the lower the fat content the thinner the yogurt will be. There are two possible remedies for this....when whisking the starter into the milk, add two tbsp dry milk powder (not instant!) or an envelope of unflavored gelatin. Many people have had good luck with those options. Or a third option is to line a strainer with cheesecloth and strain your yogurt. This will make it really really thick like sour cream. I believe this is what they call "greek yogurt". The whey that you strain out can be saved for other uses. I know that it works for making dog treats if you do that....

Now, who likes plain yogurt? Not me! At the very least I like it vanilla. Some fruit is nice, also. Here's where the fun part is! Stir in some flavor. I used strawberry freezer jam in part of the batch and that turned out really well. I didn't have to add sugar to the yogurt since the jam has plenty to spare. This morning, we added some raspberry jam to the plain and it was awesome! A little vanilla a powdered sugar might be nice, too. Maybe mango? The possibilies are only as limited as your family's palate! Mine like fruit...maybe you have a baby and want to mix in some sweet potatoes or something. Can't hurt to try, right?!



Oh, and I made this Saturday and finished it Sunday morning. There's about one cup of yogurt left right now....I think they liked it.


OH! I almost forgot! You can use the yogurt that you made for starter on the next batch one or two times if you used store bought yogurt or longer if you use the starter from the health food store. And your homemade yogurt will keep as long as 7-10 days....if your family doesn't eat it all by then! Enjoy!!

Watch this space!

Over the next week, I am going to get in touch with my inner Martha....or Julia........or whatever cook/chef you prefer. I have THREE new recipes I am going to try and share here. Ok, two are new and one is something that I've only made once before but it was good and I haven't shared it here because it was long before I shared my recipes online. So, watch for some new goodies next week!! (Or maybe they'll flop....we'll see!)

Caramel Apple Bread

This is something that Tim brought me home from Kwik Trip and I loved it. When I can bake, why should I pay per piece what I can pay for a whole loaf if I make it myself? I think this one is better than the one I had tasted.

Caramel Apple Bread

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 cup sugar

1/2 cups shredded apples, a combination of sweet and tart is really nice I use Braeburn and Granny Smith

1/4 cup fat free plain or vanilla yogurt 1 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup caramel bits

Grease the bottom and sides of 1-8x4x2 loaf pan; set aside. In a medium bowl, mix flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and nutmeg. Make a well in the center and set aside. In another bowl, mix egg, sugar, apple, vanilla, and yogurt. Combine with flour mixture. Fold in caramel bits. Pour into loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely before slicing. Enjoy!

Bread Machine Dinner Rolls

I made these for dinner the other night. It's the first time that dinner rolls actually worked out for me. The batch makes 24 rolls....and there were only 2 left at the end of the meal so I think everyone else liked them, too. Tucker ate the last two for breakfast the next morning....he saw them on the counter and whined, begging for them.

Dinner Rolls

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour (I used 2 1/2 cups AP and 1 cup whole wheat)
1 package yeast
1 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter
1 beaten egg

Place all the ingredients in the bread maker in the order the manufacturer recommends. Run it on the dough setting. Watch it through the first kneading and add milk, 1 tsp at a time, until it makes a nice ball. When it's done, shape the dough into 24 balls. Let rise in a warm place 30 minutes. Bake at 375 for 15-18 minutes or until lightly browned and sound hollow when tapped. Brush with butter when you take them out of the oven. Serve warm. Enjoy!

Microwave s'mores

I stumbled upon this somewhere in Bloggydom today. I can't remember where. What I do remember is that this woman was trying to use up her baking supplies from Christmas...(who does that? I use that stuff all year 'round.) Anyway, she was trying to use hers up and had a neat little treat idea for the kiddies. Microwave S'mores! I thought I'd try it out before the kids got home from school....you know so that I knew what I was doing and that they were actually edible. Get this....totally easy and completely yummy! Almost as good as campfire s'mores. Almost. So, here it is! Enjoy!

Microwave S'Mores

graham crackers
chocolate chips
mini marshmallows

Place the chocolate chips and marshmallows on a graham cracker square and microwave 30-45 seconds. See? Simple!

Burnt Peanuts

Every year at Christmas time, my daddy loves burnt peanuts. It's a treat I never quite liked...I'd eat them, but it wasn't a favorite of mine. So, this year Tim found a recipe to make them. They are SUPER easy to make, too! YAY! Pack them in a pint jar with a pretty lid and you are good to go for gift giving, too! They'd make great teacher/bus driver/postal worker/etc gifts! Enjoy!

Burnt Peanuts

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
red food coloring (I use coloring paste so I only used a couple drops, but if you use the regular food coloring from the spice aisle, then you'll probably need about a tsp)

Bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir in:

2 cups RAW spanish peanuts WITH THE SKINS ON!

Cook until coated and no syrup remains. (About 12 minutes) Spread in an UNgreased 15x10x1 pan. Bake at 300 for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Cool before packing in jars.
(Sorry the picture is so dark!)

Ethan's BBQ Chicken

My BIL Ethan made chicken drummies for Tim when he was in Indiana visiting. Tim fell in love with them and made them again for us when he got home. We've had them once a week since his return. THEY ARE THAT GOOD! So, trust me on the brand names specified, they do make a difference....we've tried.

BBQ Chicken

Chicken Drummies or thighs (we make a family pack for the 6 of us) placed on A FOIL LINED BAKING SHEET with an edge. (I use my jelly roll pan and a cake pan)

Sprinkle generously with:
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Paprika
FRANK'S RED HOT SAUCE

Dot around the pan with butter like this:

Bake at 325 for 1 1/2 hours. Then, drizzle with SWEET BABY RAY'S BBQ SAUCE. Turn heat up to 425 and bake another 10-15 or so. Enjoy!

OH MY Chai!

I made some of this today as a test batch. Really yummy, and I think I'll use it as a teachers gift.


Chai Tea Mix

Ingredients:

* 1/2 cup instant tea (unsweetened instant iced tea works)
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 cup dry milk
* 1 cup dry creamer

* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon ground ginger

* ½ teaspoon salt
* ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
* 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
* 1/8 teaspoon cayenne

Put in a food processor for 2 minutes to mix and make the dry milk chunks go away. It makes it a really nice, fine powder. To serve, add a heaping tablespoon of mix to 6 oz hot water. Stir and enjoy!

Shepherd's Pie

This weekend, Tim asked me to make Shepherd's Pie...like his sister Steph makes it. Many of you know that Shepherd's Pie is on Tim's all-time favorite list. So, I did like any good wife would. I called his sister, got the recipe and then modified it. lol! I told you that I can not make a recipe as written! And after all that, it needs more tweaking, but it did taste good. I just didn't go for the pureed carrots. So, here's the recipe for anyone who's interested. I've written it as I would tweak it for the next time I make it. Enjoy!

8-10 potatoes, peeled and chopped
1/2 a large onion, diced fine
1/4-1/2 cup butter
milk or half and half

Bring potatoes and onion to a boil and cook until tender. Drain and mash with butter and milk or half and half to taste. Set aside until ready to spread over the meat.

While you are waiting for the potatoes to boil.........cook the meat....

2 lbs meat....ground beef, chicken, turkey, venison (I used half beef and half venison)
10+ carrots, chopped and lightly steamed (still want them a little crunchy, but not like they'd be fresh)
salt and pepper, to taste
3+ cloves minced garlic
2 cans tomato soup
1/2 a large onion, chopped (I chop mine pretty fine so the kids don't complain too loudly)

Preheat oven to 375. Then, fry meat with a little butter and some onion and the garlic. Stir in the cooked carrots and tomato soup. Spread in a 3 qt casserole dish.

Spread potatoes over the meat. Top with cheese if desired. Bake for 20 minutes or until heated through and bubbly.

This makes a pretty big pan, but it's enough for all of us (Tucker had seconds!!) and for Tim and me to have lunch the next day.

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls

1 c. water
2 T. yeast
2 t. honey
2 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup honey
4 t. sea salt
8 cups whole wheat flour
butter
salt

Filling:

1/2 cup butter
white or brown sugar
Ground cinnamon

Melt your butter and set it aside. Have the cinnamon and sugar ready.

Frosting

1/4 cup butter
3 T milk
1/2 t. vanilla
1-2 cups powdered sugar to make the consistency you like

Melt butter. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, milk and powdered sugar. Whisk together until smooth.

Okay, here’s how to make the dough…

In a large bowl, mix 1 cup very warm water, 2 T. yeast and 2 t. honey. Stir this together. Let this sit for a few minutes while you do the next step.

Melt a stick of butter in a large saucepan. Add 1/2 cup honey, 4 t. salt and 2 1/2 cups of milk. Heat this to 120 degrees. (A candy thermometer comes in very handy....otherwise, get it warm but not too hot)

Pour milk mixture into yeast mixture and stir. Stir in 8 cups of flour, 2 cups at a time. (add more if you need it)

Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes. Plop it into a bowl, cover it and let it rise for 1-1 1/2 hours.

After dough rises, punch it down and knead out all it’s bubbles. Cut the dough in half, setting one half aside.

On a well floured surface, roll dough into a nice big rectangle, about 1/4 inch thick.

Use a pastry brush to spread 1/2 of the melted butter all over the rectangle. Sprinkle this with sugar and cinnamon.

Roll up the dough.

Cut into thin slices, about 1/2 inch thick.

Place rolls side by side on baking pan.

Repeat process with other 1/2 of dough.

Allow dough to rise about 30 minutes.

Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown at 350 degrees.

Allow rolls to cool a bit, then drizzle lots and lots of ooey-gooey frosting all over them.

Happy cinnamon roll baking!! I got this recipe from Heavenly Homemakers and they are baking right now. I can't wait to taste them!! The kids tested the "scraps" of dough and they were really good!

Thanksgiving 2008

This is the second year we are hosting our "misfit/orphan" Thanksgiving. Everyone we know that has no family or anywhere else to go is invited here. I LOVE to cook, so this is awesome for me to have everyone over. I thought I'd post our menu and recipes to share. Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!

Turkey-Herb Glazed Turkey from 2008 TOH Thanksgiving book. I skip the thyme and use fresh rosemary from my garden.

Mashed potatoes-The boys recently discovered that if mom uses Heavy Cream instead of milk, potatoes taste better. So, we'll have to do that. Idaho potatoes make nice fluffy mashed taters.

Stuffing-I don't like stuffing. But, I know that most people look forward to it at the holiday's, so I found Slow Cooker Stuffing a few years ago when I hosted my first Thanksgiving and it was a hit so we do that every year now.

Buns-My mother in law makes the best dinner rolls, so I'm going to attempt to make them this year.

1 pkg active dry yeast

1 1/2 C warm water (110-115 degrees)

1 can (12oz) evaporated milk

1/3 C sugar

1/4 C butter or margarine, melted

2 tsp salt

8-8 1/2 C all-purpose flour

Additional melted butter or margarine, optional

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add milk, eggs, sugar, butter, salt, and 4 cups flour and mix until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours. Punch dough down; divide into four portions. Shape each into eight rolls; place 20 rolls in a greased baking pan. (Might need more than one!) Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 20-30 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Brush with butter if desired. Best if served warm! Yields about 32 rolls.

Salad #1-Pomegranate and Almond Salad. An actual lettuce salad will be hitting the table this year. It sounded so good and I love pomegranates and almonds so I had to try it. This comes from the 2008 Pillsbury Thanksgiving book you find in the checkout aisle of the grocery store. (pg. 57)

1 cup sliced almonds
1/3 cup EVOO or vegetable oil
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
10 oz sweet baby lettuces (about 12 cups)
1 pomegranate, seeded (3/4 cup of seeds)

Sprinkle almonds in a heavy saucepan and cook over medium heat 5-7 minutes until almonds begin to brown. Stir frequently. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a small bowl, beat oil, lime juice, sugar, salt, pepper, and garlic with a wire whisk until smooth.

In a large bowl, toss together lettuce and pomegranate seeds. Before serving, toss with dressing and sprinkle with toasted almonds.

Salad #2-Tim wants baked beans. I made some last year that turned out awesome! So, we'll attempt to recreate them. Here's the starter recipe: Pat's Baked Beans.

Here's how I tweaked them:
Add half to one pound cooked hamburger
Use 4 cloves of garlic instead of just one.
Use navy beans instead of pinto
Add 1/4 cup maple syrup
Use black beans instead of garbanzo
Use only 1/4 cup ketchup
Add 1/4 cup Sweet Baby Ray's Honey BBQ Sauce
Add 4 oz can diced jalapenos

So, you can see that they really aren't exactly as they started out, but have a "Margie twist" to them. I rarely use a recipe as it was written. We got RAVE reviews on these last year...it's why I HAVE to make them again!

Salad #3-For the kids. Most of the kids won't eat the Pomegranate Almond Salad, so I'm planning to make Orange Jello Salad for them.

I'm also planning to have pickles, green olives and black olives as well as a veggie tray with dip (Marzetti's Ranch veggie dip)

Now, on to dessert! This year, I'm tweaking dessert. I plan to make my famous peanut butter cheesecake (skip the peanuts, use chocolate graham crackers or animal crackers and use a full cup of peanut butter.) with Chocolate Ganache, (skip the brandy) but I'm also planning to make Pumpkin Cheesecake and make some of them TURTLE pumpkin cheesecakes. All of the cheesecakes will be made in muffin cups so that they are individual serving size and I can freeze them later if I need to.

Pumpkin Cheesecake
I use a 9 inch spring form pan lined with parchment paper. I have the paper extend over the edge of the pan when in the tightest position. This makes for easier transporting onto a cake stand for better presentation. This way you are not cutting onto the bottom of the spring form.

The following recipe will give the appearance of a color all the way through. You can also make individual cheesecakes (like muffins).

Crust: I just pat onto the bottom of the pan for a thicker crust and nicer presentation, but you can press it 2 inches up the sides if you like.

2 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs (chocolate graham crackers work well)
1/2 c finely chopped pecans (optional, adds a little flavor and texture)
1/2 c butter, melted
2 teaspoons cinnamon (optional)
2 teaspoons brown sugar (optional)

Mix crumbs, pecans and butter. Press onto bottom (and 2-inches up sides of 9-inch spring form pan. Bake 10 minutes on 325 degrees. I put the spring form on a cookie sheet just incase the melted butter leaks through.

Filling:

3- 8 oz packages of Philadelphia Brand cream cheese (I use 1 regular and 2 neufchatel to lower the fat. You can use all low fat or fat-free with great results.)
1 cup sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla
3 eggs (room temp is best, but not required)
1 cup canned pumpkin
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Dash ground cloves

Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla at medium speed with electric mixer until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing at low speed after each addition, just until blended. Add pumpkin and spices to batter and mix well.

Pour batter over crust

Bake 55-60 minutes or until center is ALMOST set. Run knife or metal spatula around rim of pan to loosen cake from rim of pan. Cool before removing rim of pan. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. Can serve with whipped topping.

I'm going to drizzle with chocolate and caramel and sprinkle with toasted pecans to have turtle pumpkin cheesecakes.

The other dessert that I'm planning to make is Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. If any of you know Timmy, you know he loves Rhubarb, so I'll make one of those for the day, too.

Wow, ok, so that's going to be our Thanksgiving. I also plan to make stuffed mushrooms for dinner that night if there's anyone still here. We'll have turkey sandwiches and whatever else is still leftover.

Stuffed Mushrooms

1 8oz package cream cheese
1 pound pork sausage (I like Farmland breakfast sausage)
2-3 pounds whole mushrooms

Pull all the stems off the mushrooms and throw the stems away.

Fry the sausage and melt in the cream cheese. Use this to stuff the mushroom caps. Bake at 350 about 20 minutes. Enjoy while still hot.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

Strawberry and Spinach Salad with Orange Poppy Seed Dressing

Riley and I found this recipe online while we were looking for some healthy recipes. We found it on cleaneatingmag.com and made it over the weekend. IT WAS AWESOME!! You really only need a little of the dressing. Enjoy!

Strawberry and Spinach Salad with Orange Poppy Seed Dressing

Dressing:
1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt (I used lowfat vanilla)
1/4 cup orange juice concentrate, thawed
2 tbsp poppy seeds (1 tbsp would really be enough)
1 tbsp honey, optional (I used it)

Whisk together and chill. Serving size is 2 tbsp.


Salad:
3 1/2 cups baby spinach leaves
4 large strawberries, quartered

For each salad, I just put however much spinach we wanted in a bowl and added 1-2 quartered strawberries to that and used the dressing sparingly. SO GOOD!

Monkey Shakes

About a year ago, Tim was looking for a fun smoothie to make for the kids breakfast. He LOVES to go all out for breakfast. (I TOTALLY miss that while he's on the road, that's the one meal I don't like making!!) He found the recipe for monkey shakes. Here it is:

2 cups cold milk
1 banana (we use 2)
1 box instant chocolate pudding
2 cups ice

Blend together in your blender and VOILA! Yummy shake.

So, Wednesday last week Works For Me Wednesday returned to Rocks In My Dryer. I was thrilled, even though I didn't have a WFMW post. I did go reading though them and Amy at MomsToolbox had an awesome idea....make smoothie popsicles using the last little bit of smoothie that's ALWAYS in the blender and NOBODY wants to drink because they've had too much! Tim's sister, Sue, got the boys popsicle molds at this funky smoothie shop in Colorado when she lived there, so I pulled them out for the first time in 3 years and make smoothies! Friday we made Strawberry ones with just milk, frozen strawberries, some honey, vanilla and some vanilla yogurt. Very yummy and good for you, too. Popped the last of it in the freezer and they were AWESOME!

So today, I used up some starting to rot bananas and made monkey shakes. This time I added 2/3 cup Carnation Instant Breakfast. I thought the extra protein would be a good addition and it was chocolate flavored, so it would hide well. AND IT DID! Rugby and TJ loved them! (Riley slept through all this). HOW COOL IS THAT! Now, the kids will think I totally ROCK when I let them have a popsicle for breakfast and it'll be good for them (especially if I switch over to sugar free pudding)! YAY MOM!