crepes!

Breakfast crepes!  A favorite around my house.  And it's an old recipe from years ago, when Julie was in girl scouts, and this is from her girl scout leader.....if you're out there, Mrs. Matthews! 

Filled with lingonberries, yum!

4 eggs, beaten
1 cup flour
1 t. salt
3 T. sugar
1 cup milk
1 t. vanilla
4 T. butter, melted

Beat eggs.  Add milk and flour alternately.  Mix.  Add salt, sugar, vanilla.  Add 1 T. melted butter and mix on medium-high.  Use 1/4 - 1/3 cup for each crepe.  Saute each crepe, on both sides, in melted butter in crepe pan.  Remove to plate, add filling, roll, and sprinkle with powdered sugar. 

Muffins

These muffins are really good.  A nice "fly-out-of-the-door" breakfast when you don't have time left to fix anything.  Tasty and filling.  Even Mark loves them!

 

 

Banana Crumb Muffins

1-1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 bananas, mashed
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup butter, melted

1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tablespoons flour
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 Tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).  Lightly grease 10 muffin cups or line with muffin papers.

In large bowl, mix together 1-1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. 
In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter.
Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until mositened. 
Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.

In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 Tablespoons flour and the cinnamon. 
Cut in 1 Tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. 
Sprinkle topping over muffins.

Bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes (I would say 20-25 minutes), until a toothpick inserted into center of muffin comes out clean.

Granola!

Homemade Granola

7 c. uncooked oats
1 c. wheat germ
1 c. shredded coconut
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. oil
1/2 c. water
1 T. vanilla extract
1 t. salt
1 c. slivered almonds
1/2 c. pecans

Mix all ingredients thoroughly and bake in a shallow pan at 275 degrees for approximately one hour, or until coconut is slightly browned.  Cool.  Store in refrigerator.  makes 18-20 servings. 
Thanks to Gooseberry Patch.


Julie made this and this granola is easy and delicious!  I sprinkled it on my Greek yogurt yesterday for breakfast with fresh raspberries.  Yum!  Then I had it again at lunchtime when I spread a cut-up apple with peanut butter and dipped the slices in the granola.  A little cupful is good just for a little snack all by itself too.  Helps curb your appetite so you don't just grab something you shouldn't. 

Alexandra's Italian Shrimp Creation

Here's another one---- passed on from Italy to the Albrights.. It was very delicious!

(serves 6 people)... the amts. and directions are approximate. Lots of room to improvise and love the dish!

Ingredients

2 1/2 # of shrimp

3 large tomatoes

2 garlic cloves

2 small grocery store boxes of mushrooms

small pinch of salt

3 Tbsp. of parsley

1 1/2 c. of champagne

angel hair pasta

Light cream (1 c.)

Olive oil

Directions:

Chop up veggies

Salt the shrimp and lightly cook in champagne, while stirring. Add tomatoes. When liquid boils- remove the shrimp. This takes between 8-13 minutes)

Add 3/4 c of the cream to tomatoes and rest of liquid (1-2 minutes, so it gets thick.. and add in everything else-- except the 1/4 cream + parsley.

Saute mushrooms and garlic w/ olive oil and add in.

Put everything together and add back the shrimp.

Separately prepare the pasta, and then add the remaining 1/4 c of cream and parsley and toss.

Put the mixture on top of the pasta and enjoy!

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Just wrote about this delish cake recipe that Julie found.  Please check out my blog for the recipe!

A good ol' salad dressing

Since we were married, we have made and enjoyed this salad dressing every once in a while.  My mother-in-law said it was a Gas Company recipe.  It's a French dressing made with Campbell's Tomato Soup.

Anna's French Dressing

1 can tomato soup
1 teasp. salt
1 teasp. dry mustard
3/4 cup corn oil  ( I use cannola)
3/4 cup dark vinegar  (I use cider)
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 teasp. paprika
1 teasp. worcestershire sauce
2 Tablespoons onion soup mix or onion flakes

Mix in quart jar and refrigerate.  Shake before using.

Pepperoncini Beef Sandwiches

3 lb. chuck roast, fat trimmed
1 12 oz. jar whole pepperoncini peppers, with juice
1 C. water
2 beef boullion cubes (may substitute 1 cup beef broth for water and cubes)
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 t. dried oregano

Cut roast in large cubes.
Put all ingredients in a large crockpot. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Shred. Serve on kaiser rolls or Italian bread.
Makes spicy sandwiches! Use 1/2 jar peppers if you are afraid of the heat. We all enjoy it.

Spicy Smashed Chick Pea Dip

1 can organic chick peas, drained and rinsed
2 T. extra virgin olive oil (you need the flavor of extra virgin)
juice of 1/2 fresh lemon
1 clove fresh garlic, crushed
1/4 t. crushed red pepper flakes
sea salt
fesh ground black pepper

This mixture is kind of like hummus, but lemony and fresher tasting. Just put everything in a food processor and whip it until it's creamy. Not sure of a blender would work well. Serve with pita chips, warm pita bread or blue corn chips(my favorite). Yummy, healthy snack!

Fresh Pesto

Here's a little something that doesn't require much measuring.... just make sure one has fresh ingredients:

#1

Basil (I used some dried from the garden)

Olive oil

Parmesan cheese (grated)

Garlic cloves

Pine Nuts

2#

Have your taste tester make sure all the ingredients are fresh..

and then serve on good pasta and fresh tomatoes

( I usually make some, and freeze some too...--- with the frozen stuff, I dribble a little olive oil on top, so the top layer stays "green".)

ENJOY!

Comfort Food

At the right side of this picture, you will see a dish that Julie made for my Valentine party.  It is "Corn Pudding"a recipe from Susan Branch's "Autumn" book.  Putting a helping of it in your bowl before you pour on some chili is delish! 

1 cup sour cream
1-14 oz. can corn, drained
1-14 oz can creamed corn
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix
1/4 tsp. cayenne
1/4 tsp. paprika

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix first 7 ingredients and pour into buttered 9" square baking dish or casserole.  Sprinkle top with paprica and bake 1 hour. 

If you are not having it with chili, you can heat maple syrup and serve over pudding hot ro warm. 

While the cookies were cooling

We needed to have something to distract us from the wonderful aroma while the cookies were cooling, so they wouldn't be all eaten from the metal rack. So, we worked on 2 puzzles & here is the result of one. Can you tell what the scene depicts? (Don't worry, --dad's feet in the fireplace were fine, since the logs weren't burning :)

Mom's Festive Cherryette Cookies

The Albrights made these cookies on Christmas day! These are one of our traditions. Dad says he used to make cookies with his mom in Allentown over 50 years ago.. This recipe is simple and yummy...

Ingredients:
1) 3/4 cup Olivio ( margarine)
2) 1/4 cup butter (or just use 1 cup of Olivio and skip the butter)
3) 1/2 cup (10X sugar)
4) 1 tsp. salt
5) 2 TBS. vanilla (the good stuff is from April)
6) 2 cups all purpose flour
7) 1 cup finely chopped pecans
8) Candied cherries (red and green)

Directions:
1. Cream butter/olivio & sugar.
2. Add remaining ingredients and mix into a soft dough. Let set a few minutes in a bowl.
3. Shape into 1 " balls and place on lightly greased cookie sheet.
4. Press a small indentation in center w/ tip of finger & place 1/2 candied cherry in each.
5. Bake in 325 degree oven for about 25 minutes. (If dough is dry, add a few drops of water.)
6. Eat and enjoy!

Finally!

Easy Black Bean Soup

2 T. olive oil

1 1/2 C. chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, pressed or finely chopped

1 C. chopped green pepper ( I use poblano peppers)

1 C. chopped red pepper

3/4 T. cumin

1/2 t. cayenne pepper (up to 1 t. if you like it hot!)

6 C. low sodium chicken broth

2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained)

Salt and pepper

Grated cheddar or jack cheese

Sour cream

Lime wedges

Crushed tortilla chips

In a large heavy pot, heat oil over medium flame. Add onion, garlic and peppers; cook until tender. Stir in spices and toss to coat vegetables. Pour in stock and beans; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. In a blender(or using an immersion blender- much easier!), puree half the soup. Return puree to the pot and stir together. Serve hot with garnishes.

A good and easy snack!

"Sugary cinnamon meets salty pretzels in this super-easy gift-worthy snack mix."  A nice thing to make for your company today or take where ever you are going for Thanksgiving or any winter gathering.

Cinnamon Pretzels

2/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 - 16 oz package small pretzel twists

In a large roasting pan, stir together vegetable oil, sugar and cinnamon. 
Add the pretzels; toss well to coat with cinnamon-sugar.
Bake, uncovered, in a 300 degree oven for 30 minutes, stirring twice.
Spread on waxed paper to cool. 
Store in an airtight container.

Makes 12 (1 cup) servings

Thanksgiving

We had our Thanksgiving dinner this weekend at Julie's house.  No low-cal dishes for sure, but everything was so yummy!  "Happy Thanksgiving" to you all this week! 

Yoo-hoo

Julie and Dan made a wonderful pot roast dinner last week that they learned at a Joliet Junior College cooking class.  Apple Crisp too!  I am sure she will post soon!  And I did post a little bit of information, in the comment section, about Carolyn's squash recipe that I received from our good detective, Joanne. 

Maine Blueberry Jam

In honor of Veterans Day, I decided to make something "all American" and also create a tribute to Maine. So I got out my canning tools, some blueberries frozen earlier, and got going. I started with about 6 cups of blueberries and looked up the recipe in "Ball Blue Book" of Preserving. I adapted it to cut back the sugar, & basically:

1. Washed the blueberries,

2. Washed all the canning jars/ lids and immersed them in hot water,

3. Dissolved about 2 cups of sugar, 1/4 cup lemon juice, and pectin and calcium water, with the blueberries and cooked and mashed them.

4. Ladled the hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch of head space and put the lids on the jars.

5. Processed the jars for 10 minutes in a hot water bath.

6. Had Billie Sue Corgi, monitor them cooling on the rack. (Catcher corgi and Ben the cat were near by giving their input too.)

7. Sampled one jar-- had with crackers & a little butter the next day-- ymm!

8. Hope to give the remainder to my friends at work for the holidays.

Mac n' Cheese Soup

Here we have real comfort food.  I am forever searching for a real creamy mac n' cheese recipe.  Until I find it, I decided to try this yummy looking soup.  not low-cal, but it was delish!

Mac n' Cheese Soup

makes about 7 cups

1-1/2 cups dry elbow macaroni (6 oz)
1/2 cup minced onion
1/4 cup minced celery
2 Tbsp butter
1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 tsp dry mustard
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2 cups milk
4 cups shredded sharp cheddar
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
salt to taste

op:  1/4 cup crumbled bleu cheese
2 Tbsp minced fresh chives

Cook macaroni in salted water, according to pkg directions.  Drain and set aside.
Sweat onion and celery in butter in lg saucepan over med heat until soft, about 5 min.
Stir in flour to coat and cook 1 minute.  Deglaze with wine and simmer until nearly evaporated.  Stir in broth, mustard and cayenne.  Simmer until slightly thickened, 5 minutes, then whisk in milk and warm through.  Do not let boil or base may become grainy.  Add cheddar, 1 cup at a time, allowing it to melt completely before adding the next cup.  Stir in macaroni, lemon juice, and salt, stirring to break up any clumps.  Remove from heat.

Combine bleu cheese and chives in a small bowl.  Garnish each serving with this mixture. 

And...oh my gosh!

An easy one!

Julie and I have both made this recipe and think it's worth sharing!  It's made with a pot roast and shreds just like pulled pork when it's done.  An easy recipe for a busy day.

Slow Cooker Beef Sandwiches

3 # chuck roast
4 cloves garlic, sliced

16 oz. pepperoncini and juice
2 beef boullion
1/2 cup water
1 t. oregano

Place all in crock pot and cook on Low for 6-8 hours.  Serve on crusty french bread.

I fried sweet green peppers to add to the sandwiches.  You can leave the pepperoncini whole and remove them after cooking or slice them to put on sandwiches too. 

Carolyn's Squash

Hi All: Bruce sent this my way to post on the blog. Now Carolyn, we just need the recipe. It looks very delicious and great for the fall!