Buckeyes

It's really close to Christmas now. If you haven't thought of anything to bring to Grandma's house, here's an idea: BUCKEYES. Everyone loves them. (Pipe down, you in the back.) I mean, what's not to love? Chocolate and peanut butter.

If you already have your bring-along dish planned, you may just want to make these for yourself. Keep them for after Christmas so that you don't have chocolate withdrawals after the big day. Kinda ease yourself into the new year. Eat one a day, then half a day, then a quarter a day.... or just gobble them up and go cold turkey later. Whatever works for you.

Buckeyes
Ingredients:
12 oz. chocolate chips
1 block paraffin wax *(Use 1/3 of a block)
1 1/2 sticks margarine
1 pound powdered sugar (4 cups)
1-12 oz. jar peanut butter
1 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

Directions:
1. Melt the chocolate chips and the wax together in a double boiler, low
heat. I don't have a "double boiler" so I placed a pan inside another pan. Put
water in the big pan and the chocolate in the little pan. This keeps the
chocolate from scorching. You don't want to ever waste good chocolate!

2. Mix all the other ingredients (margarine, powdered sugar, peanut butter,
vanilla).
3. Roll it into nickel size balls.
4. Then place them on wax paper and refrigerate. I recommend 4 hours but
until they aren't smushy.
5. Insert toothpicks into each one.
6. Dip into chocolate leaving some peanut butter showing at the top then
place each back on the wax paper to set.
7. Store in can or airtight container.
8. Devour as desired.

*If you're wondering what paraffin wax is, you're not alone. Just ask at the grocery store but I think you can find it near the chocolate chips ... maybe. Yes. You should ask. On my recipe card which is compliments of my mother-in-law and Aunt Rita it looks like "paraffin way". Thankfully there was someone knowledgeable at the grocery that recognized the word paraffin and ignored my ignorant way then directed me to the proper aisle and handed me a one pound box of Gulf Wax (household paraffin wax). Inside the box are 4 bars. You only need 1/3 of one bar. (Don't worry, the wax will keep a long time.)

These also make great gifts because... chocolate and peanut butter.

Beans, Beans the Magical Fruit, Part 1: Ohio Farmhouse Sausage Chili

I know what you’re thinking.  It’s Christmas.  Where are the festive dishes?  Where are the visions of sugarplums?  Well, let me tell you a tale of the darker side of culinary Christmas.  The scrimping-and-saving side.  The side where meals are made BEFORE Ebenezer Scrooge comes to his (still questionable) senses.  It is the meal of penny pinching which makes the more festive dishes possible.  And penny pinching in our house means beans.  Lots of beans.

The bean is an amazing food.  Is it truly a fruit?  Well, that’s for another, more heated discussion certainly.  But I digress. 

The bean can be made into almost anything - and cheaply.

One of the favorite dishes I like to throw the little guys into is Ohio Farmhouse Sausage Chili, courtesy of Joy of Cooking.  I make this dish a lot (and have tweaked it here and there, but not enough to take any real credit).  My family and this dish are on quite familiar terms.  I buy ground sausage in the three-pound chubs at Costco (akin to Sam’s, for those that know not the greatness of Costco) and divide it up and freeze it – mostly just for this meal.  Kidney beans I keep on hand – sometimes dried, but mostly canned as I’ve found they are about the same cost as dried when bought at discount grocery stores.  I’ve made this chili the stove and even recently in the crockpot.  It’s just a rockin’ chili.  So without further adieu, I present, Jessica’s version of Ohio Farmhouse Sausage Chili:

Ohio Farmhouse Sausage Chili

     4 to 6 servings

Brown in a large skillet:

     1 pound pork sausage

     1 large onion, chopped

Toward the end of the browning, add:

     2 celery stalks, diced

When the celery is softened, add:

     One 28-ounce can (3 ½ cups) diced tomatoes

     2 cups tomato juice or chicken broth or a combo of the two (**I like to use V8)

     1 to 2 Tablespoons maple syrup or molasses (**I prefer maple syrup and always use 2 Tablespoons)

     2 teaspoons ground cumin

     1 ½ teaspoons powdered sage

     ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

Simmer for 20 minutes.  Add:

     3 ½ to 4 cups cooked red kidney beans, drained and rinsed (**I use 4 cans, drained and rinsed)

Simmer for 15 minutes more.  Serve with:

     Sharp cheddar cheese, cubed (**this is excellent in the steaming chili)

     Corn bread (**see my cornbread post), or buttermilk biscuits

Ginger Tea

While my Ghanaian friend, Afi, was here I learned that ginger tea is great for sore throats. Are you ready for this elaborate recipe?

Ingredients:
Ginger
Water

Directions:
Heat the water.
Slice the peel/skin off the fresh ginger.
Grate ginger into the water until it tastes tea-like.
Drink.

No, you don't have to remove any of the ginger bits from the tea.

Yes, I was kidding about the elaborate part. It's so simple! Add a little honey and your throat will be feeling better quickly.

Peeling Potatoes

Saturday, I decided to make mashed potatoes AND to try this new-to-me technique of peeling potatoes to see if it would work.

It did! Although not as easily and flawlessly as it worked for Mary Ann, it spared me any sliced fingernails and saved on the actual peeling time. I think it is worthy of using again. What do you think?

Update: I do not recommend this method for thin skinned potatoes!

Meat Pie: Ghana-style

Another Ghanaian meal that Afi taught me to make is the meat pie. Think Hot Pocket but healthier. Afi told me these are great to eat on the go because they are filling and no utensils are necessary.

Meat Filling
Ingredients:
1. meat, about 1/2 pound - any protein will do. We used tuna but I want to try browned breakfast sausage the next time I make this. Mm.... sausage. I also plan to use my leftover turkey meat with this recipe. What is your favorite meat?
2. chopped onion
3. chopped green pepper
4. salt and pepper
You can get creative in what you want to add.

Directions:
Use precooked meat or cook it yourself before adding the other ingredients and filling the pie crusts.

The crust has a nice flavor to it.
Ingredients:
2 cups of flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
dash of nutmeg
dash of salt
sprinkle black pepper
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
*approximately 1/4 cup of butter or margarine*
1/2 cup of milk - add more as needed until the mixture is "rollable"

Directions:
1. First mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl then stir in the milk.

2. Roll the pie dough flat.
3. Cut out a circle. You can use a soup bowl as a template.
4. Add your filling and fold the crust over and pinch it shut. You can add a little water to the edge to help it seal if the crust won't stay closed.

5. Brush with evaporated milk.* This causes it to brown while baking. *Because you use so little evaporated milk, I was thinking about trying to brush on egg white which would actually give your meat pie a little shine.
6. Place your half moon-shaped pies on a baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees until brown. Important: You should also poke the tops of the pies with a toothpick or fork before baking. Enjoy!

Okay! Now that I have meat pies on the mind, I think I'll be making them for lunch today!

Fried Plantain: Ghana-style

When my friend mentioned fried plantains last weekend, I couldn't help but ask Afi about going shopping for the necessary ingredients and learning how she makes them. I've had plantain in Haiti before and loved it but I've never had fried plantain here. Thankfully, Afi loves to cook and she not only showed my how to make fried plantain but three more of her favorite Ghanaian meals too!

First, Afi showed me how to pick out a ripe plantain. It has to be yellow and brown (but not too brown) and soft (but not too soft).

Next, I learned what ginger looks like before it is ground and placed in a spice bottle! You must first "skin" the ginger with a knife before grating it.

Then, Afi showed me how to skin the plantain. She sliced open the peel from top to bottom then unwrapped the plantain. Okay, I may be getting ahead of myself here.

Ingredients:
4-5 plantains
grated ginger (1 tsp if using powdered ginger)
1/2 tsp. red pepper
1 tsp. cayenne pepper, powdered
1/2 tsp. cloves

Directions:
1. Slice the plantains. You can cut it in half then slice the plantain into little half moons, slice it into little circles, or slice it into longer, steak fry-like shapes.
2. Put the plantains into a large bowl then add grated ginger, crushed red pepper, cayenne pepper, and cloves. If you use powdered ginger, you may add just a bit of water to help it coat. Try a teaspoon at a time.
3. Fry the coated plantain in a large skillet with enough oil to cover them or nearly cover them. Afi told me that a deep fryer is best because they all cook at the same time; when using a frying pan, you have to watch over them and turn them until they are golden brown.
4. When they are sufficiently brown, plate them with a paper towel to remove the excess oil. Then watch them disappear!

The finished product is a tasty combination of sweet and subtle spiciness.

Afi and I made these twice this weekend. I'll be making some on my own in a couple of days so perhaps I'll adjust the spice measurements. Afi measures according to taste and feel so the teaspoon measurements are an estimate. Of course, you can adjust the amount to please your own taste buds!

Sincerely, Sarah

24 Hour Omelet

This is the perfect breakfast dish for overnight guests or for anytime really. You prepare it the night before then bake it in the morning. We tend to like breakfast for dinner so I've prepared it in the morning then baked it for dinnertime too. It's simple to make and delicious to eat.

Ingredients:
8 or so slices of bread minus the crust (buttered on one side)
2 cups of milk
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of dry mustard (regular mustard can be substituted)
a dash of pepper
1 pound grated cheddar cheese

Directions:
1. Butter trimmed bread on one-side.
2. Place butter side down in greased 9x11 pan.
3. Beat together in separate bowl: milk, eggs, salt, dry mustard, and pepper.
4. Pour mixture over the bread.
5. Sprinkle bread with grated cheese. (You can also add more favorite toppings such as cooked bacon, sausage, onions, green pepper, etc.)
6. Refrigerate over night.
7. Baked covered for 1 hour at 325 degrees.
8. Uncover for the last 5 minutes.

You may have noted that you don't get to sleep 24 hours at night! I don't know who does. The recipe could be called the 6 or 8 Hour Omelet but that doesn't sound as appealing. Of course, you could prepare it the morning before to reach that 24 hour title.... Just do what works for you.

The only problem with this recipe is that people want seconds, thirds, and fourths. It's that good.

Sincerely, Sarah

Sweet Cornbread - Best Friend to Soups and Chili Everywhere

When the weather starts to get chilly and you begin to dust off those wonderful, soul-warming soup, stew, and chili recipes, you absolutely must have a good side like cornbread to round off the meal. Consider this sweeter version of cornbread. You could make it into muffins if you like, but I, being a cast iron skillet girl, prefer baking it in a cast iron skillet. Leftover cornbread is marvelous with butter and strawberry jam or honey. If you enjoy sweeter breads, do give this one a try!

Sweet Cornbread

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
2/3 c sugar
1/2 c yellow corn meal
1 Tblsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 c milk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 c vegetable oil
3 Tblsp butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat cast iron skillet in oven with 2 Tbsp Crisco. (No cast iron skillet? I'm sorry - you really should pick one up. But you can use any oven safe skillet. No oven safe skillet? Alright then - just use any pan - 9x9 would work best, liberally greased, and skip the preheated skillet step.)

~Combine flour, sugar, corn meal, baking powder and salt in medium bowl.
~Combine milk, eggs, vegetable oil and butter in the small bowl; mix well. Add to flour mixture; stir just until blended.
~Pour into hot skillet.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown and/or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Serve warm.

Enjoy! Jessica

Quinoa with Raisins

Quinoa with Raisins

(Allergy-free - Gluten-free)

Handful raisins

2 cups dry quinoa

4 cups water

Place ingredients into sauce pan and bring to a boil. Then reduce temperature to a simmer and let cook for 15 minutes. This actually cooks just like rice. For added flavor add cinnamon if you wish. Serve as a hot cereal for breakfast or afternoon snack. Serve with rice milk, soy milk or cow's milk. Add a little sweetener if you like - I'd suggest agave nectar or honey which are easy to digest and won't give you or your kids high/lows like processed sugar does. Don't give honey to a baby under one year though.

Quinoa is an ancient grain that is loaded with protein and fiber. Use the leftovers to sprinkle on top of salads. You can buy quinoa in most grocery stores that have a gluten-free section. Red Bob's is a good brand. Otherwise a healthfood store would be sure to have it. Enjoy!

Sara Fry

Homemade Apple & Pear Sauce

Homemade Apple & Pear Sauce

(Allergy-Free)

6 gala apples

6 bosc pears

Water

Pare and core the apples and pears. Place upside-down on deep baking dish. Pour about 2 cups of water into dish - just enough to come half-way up the fruit. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour at 350 degrees. Take dish out and let cool. When fruit is cool enough to handle, remove skins and place half the fruit and juice into blender. Pulse bosc, then blend until nice and smooth. Serve immediately, place in hot jars to can, or pour into ice-cube trays to freeze. Enjoy!

Optional: add cinnamon for added flavor.

This is great for babies, toddlers, older kids and adults. The flavor of this combination is so delicious you will wish you would have made a double batch. You may ask "why should I go to this trouble when you can buy jarred baby food at the store?" My simple answer is that with this recipe YOU know what is in the product. Baby food in the store is allowed to contain preservatives without disclosing it on the label because of it being in so-called "small amounts". Preservatives have been proven to affect behavior in children and leaves toxins in the liver and kidneys.

For babies: freeze the sauce into ice-cube trays. When frozen transfer to ziploc baggy to retain freshness. Lasts 2 months in freezer.

Sara Fry

Homemade Hummus

Homemade Hummus

(Allergy-free)

1 can of chickpeas, drained

salt/pepper

1 Tbsp olive oil

3 Tbsp water

1 Tbsp lemon juice

Drain the can of chickpeas and place in blender. Add a dash of salt and pepper to your liking. Drizzle in the olive oil; pour in the water; and squeeze the lemon juice into the blender. First pulse the mixture then blend. Add more water until it is a light, smooth consistency.

Cut up fresh red peppers, cucumbers, snap peas, or any vegetable you love to dip. Serve the dip in your favorite little bowl and serve up with the vegetables. Your kids will love this light tasting dip too.

This dip is loaded with protein, fiber and flavor. Enjoy!

Sara Fry

Corn Casserole

That time of year is approaching quickly. It's the time of year when you bring your favorite dishes to gatherings of your friends and your families and, of course, enjoy all their delicious food too.

Corn Casserole is one of my favorite side dishes. It is inexpensive and easy to make as well as scrumptious!

Ingredients:
1 can cream style corn
1 can whole kernel corn (drained)
1 cup sour cream
1 stick melted butter (1/2 cup)
2 eggs
1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix
1 to 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Grease the casserole dish.
3. Mix together all ingredients except cheese.
4. Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top if desired.
5. Cover with foil until the last 5 minutes of baking time.
6. Bake for 30-40 minutes or more.*

*The baking time will depend on whether you use a rectangular dish or a deeper, round dish. I always use a round dish and the baking time increases so much that I let it bake for 1-1/2 hours. If it is still jiggly in the middle, it needs to bake longer. Another sign that it is done is that the edges come away from the side of the dish just a little.

Corn Casserole is a great addition to the traditional Thanksgiving and Christmas meals of turkey, ham, stuffing, and mashed potatoes. It's good stuff! Enjoy!

Sincerely, Sarah

16 Bean Soup

Bean Soup is one of those "cozy" meals I begin to crave when the cool weather arrives. My method of cooking this soup varies on the ingredients I have at hand. I'm one of those people, the people who use whatever is already in the house instead of always planning my menu ahead of time and shopping accordingly. In my defense, you might be one of those people too if going to the grocery required you to load three boys into the car, then the cart, then the car again all the while repeating, "We're almost done. No, that's not on our list. Don't bug your brother. We're almost done...."

Bean Soup ingredients:
6-8 cups of water (depending on the thickness desired)
1 package (1 lb.) of Goya 16 Bean Soup Mix or 1 lb. of the bean of your choosing
2-1/2 cups of mashed cooked potatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped or 1 can of sliced carrots
1 bay leaf
1 ham bone or 3 chicken bouillon cubes
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. It is very important if you have dry beans that you soak them first! There are probably soaking directions on the package but, if not, this is what you do: For a pound of dry beans add 3 to 4 cups hot water. Boil 2 minutes, then set aside for one hour. OR you can soak the beans in 3 to 4 cups of cold water overnight. Then drain and rinse the beans.
2A. If you are using a ham bone: Combine beans, water, and ham bone. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer about 2 hours or until the beans are tender.
2B. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer 1 hour.
2C. Remove that ham bone. Remove all ham from the bone, cut up the ham, and stir the ham into the soup.
3. If you are using bouillon cubes: Just put all your ingredients in the cooking pot. Heat to boiling; reduce heat, cover and simmer until the beans are tender.
4. Remove the bay leaf when you are finished cooking your soup.

Bean soup is a very flexible recipe. Fresh ingredients are wonderful but not always necessary. If I don't have a fresh onion or garlic, I use minced onion and minced garlic. If I don't have celery, I simply leave it out or use some celery seed. A fresh carrot can be replaced with canned carrots. Instant mashed potatoes cut your actual stove time tremendously. Bouillon cubes are the way I go. Personally, I don't care for ham in my bean soup; if I want Ham & Bean Soup, then I would call it that. Bacon, on the other hand, sounds delicious! See? Just use what you like. Have fun and enjoy!

P.S. A side of corn muffins or corn bread makes a great addition to this meal.

Sincerely, Sarah

Pizza Bagels

Sometimes you just need to make something quick. Recently, I rediscovered pizza bagels. I used to make these for myself when I was a kid. Now my boys love them for a quick lunch or ... well... any time of the day.

All you need is plain or onion bagels, spaghetti sauce, and shredded cheese. You can get creative with other toppings too.
1. Toast the bagels. (This pre-toasting prevents the sauce from causing soggy bagels.)
2. Spread spaghetti sauce on them.
3. Generously sprinkle cheese on top.
4. If you have a toaster oven, toast them again until the cheese is melted; if not, you can use your microwave.
5. Serve and enjoy!

It is a perfect little pizza snack without the price of frozen mini pizzas from your grocery store.

Pumpkin Pie

After reading Missy's blog about cooking down a pumpkin, I was inspired to make pumpkin pie from scratch (except for my store-bought pie crust). After a family project of carving the other pumpkins, the smallest pumpkin was sacrificed for the greater good of pleasing our taste buds.

Since this was my first attempt, I relied on Betty Crocker again for baking wisdom. She graciously wrote out her recipe for me to follow. See? Now Betty also told me how to cook the pumpkin but cooking with Kareem was much more exciting to me and Missy has a much more inspiring and funny way of giving directions than Betty. No offense, Betty. And I could recount how I cooked the pumpkin but again... Missy already covered that.

Moving on...

Pumpkin Pie according to Betty:
Pastry for 9-inch one-crust pie
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 can (16 ounces) pumpkin or 1-1/2 cups cooked pumpkin
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Put the crust in the pie pan.
2. Beat eggs slightly in medium bowl with wire whisk or hand beater. Beat in remaining ingredients.
3. To prevent spilling, place pastry-lined pie plate on oven rack. Pour filling into pie plate. Bake 15 minutes.
4. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Bake about 45 minutes longer or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Refrigerate about 4 hours or until chilled.
5. Serve with Whipped Cream!

This takes 20 minutes to prepare, an hour to bake, and 4 hours of chill time. Makes 8 servings.
Be sure to used canned pumpkin or cooked pumpkin, not pumpkin pie mix, in this recipe. For a special garnish, cut leftover pastry into special shapes and bake separately on a cookie sheet until light golden brown. Arrange cut outs over baked filling.

After baking, decorating, and chilling our pie, Josiah and I called Grandpa and Grandma to join us for our Pie Fest before bedtime. The pie passed the Grandpa test and, well, everyone's taste test except perhaps Noah who may have suspected that it was his own little pumpkin which had been baked in the dish set before him.

My next pie ambition is to bake Sweet Potato Pie! Mm. Just the name of it sets my mouth to watering.

What is your favorite pumpkin pie recipe? Or for that matter, what is your favorite pie? And do you have the recipe?

Sincerely, Sarah

Admission

Okay. It's about time to tell you the back story of why this particular blog was started. I nearly ruined a simple meal. There. I said it. Previously, I admitted that I don't technically cook everyday and sometimes just cook to get by. I do have a family that needs to eat after all.

I was making a Hamburger Helper dinner. (I know, I know. All you real cooks are shocked and dismayed.) Because of the appetites of my family, doubling the "recipe" was in order. After thawing and browning the two pounds of hamburger, I added double the water, double the milk, and double the butter. Then I added noodles and sauce mix. After cooking it the prescribed length of time, I noticed that it was extremely runny. "Is it really supposed to thicken this much?" Then I saw it: the other package of Hamburger Helper sitting unopened on my counter. Disbelief flooded over me. How could I have doubled everything else and forgotten to add the second box?

This was no time to admit defeat! I decided to try to salvage my simple dinner. I got out a second pot, added water, brought it to boil, and then cooked the other noodles for 8 minutes. At the same time, I added the second package of sauce mix to the original pan which I kept on "low". The newly cooked noodles were then transferred to the waiting Hamburger Helper meal. Success! The boys gobbled up dinner and nothing was wasted after all... except my ego; that was pretty much shot after the near ruination of a box meal. *ahem*

Afterwards I updated my facebook status to "Sarah is thinking about starting a new blog about food and recipes. It would be about how to save a meal after leaving out a key ingredient! Bwahaha!!" But people actually liked the idea and said that they would be willing to contribute! After mulling it over for awhile, I thought it could be a lot of fun to be swapping stories and recipes. You can look forward to hearing ideas and recipes from other people too.

So... All's well that ends well! and Never give up! etc.

Sincerely, Sarah

Chili Take 2

Now that everyone has made their chili or at least bought their chili ingredients, let's talk about some other culinary uses for chili.

1. Chili, Chips & Cheese - Grab yourself a bowl of tortilla chips. Sprinkle the desired amount of cheese onto the chips. Top it off with chili. Warm it until the cheese is melted. Tah dah! A scrumptious snack has been created.

2. Chili Baked Potato - Bake a potato (or several if your feeding more than yourself). Slice it down the middle, slice it across like football laces, then give it a squeeze. Now that your baked potato is beautifully opened, top it with chili. Indulge yourself by adding cheese and sour cream. Oh yeah! Now you have a tasty lunch.

3. Layered Chip Dip - Get out your 9 x 11 casserole dish. Spread refried beans until the bottom of the dish is covered. Next spread a layer of sour cream. Add a layer of chili. Follow that with your favorite goodies such as chopped onion, sliced olives, chopped lettuce, dice tomatoes, etc. Top it off with shredded cheese. The next step is very important. Get your bag of tortilla chips and dig in! This is an excellent snack for football parties or any gathering ... or sitting, anytime really.

P.S. If you have been eating chili for a couple of days, for your sake and for the sake of those around you, please consider variety in your diet. Just saying.

Sincerely, Sarah

Raisin Substitution

Okay. Suppose you decide to make oatmeal cookies but you realize that you have run out of raisins. What do you do? Forget about the cookies? That doesn't sound like a good idea! Well, that happened to me one time and I followed the suggestion of my pal, Betty Crocker, and tried chopped prunes instead. I know, I know. You're thinking, "Who has prunes?" Surprisingly, I did. And my cookies turned out yummy!

Here are more raisin substitutions too!
Instead of 1 cup of raisins, use 1 cup of currants, dried cherries, dried cranberries, chopped dates, or chopped prunes.

Sincerely, Sarah

The Best Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Tomorrow is Grandparents Day at school so Josiah and I baked oatmeal cookies for the occasion. I didn't need to improve on the recipe since it is already delicious. Except that I use vanilla concentrate so if I used the vanilla extract that the recipe calls for, I would have to double it.

One of the best parts of baking cookies (let's be honest, there are many "best" parts to cookie making) is having someone to bake with you. Josiah assisted me after putting on his Home Depot apron. We did a check of all our ingredients first so that we could determine if we had enough for a regular batch or a double batch. Then we cleaned and organized our space and started baking!

Vanishing Oatmeal Cookies by Quaker Oats
(yields 4 dozen)

1 cup (2 sticks) margarine or butter, softened - I vote for butter!
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs or 4 egg whites - Definitely eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional) - why not?
3 cups Quaker Oats (Quick or Old Fashioned, uncooked)
1 cup raisins

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat together butter and eggs until creamy.

2. Adds eggs and vanilla; beat well.

3. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; mix well

(Don't forget to mix these dry ingredients in a separate bowl before adding them to the creamy ingredients.)

4. Stir in oats and raisins. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

5. Bake 8 to 10 minutes for a chewy OR 11 to 12 minutes for a crisp cookie. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet; remove to wire rack. Cool completely.

Mmmm. Delicious.

Brown Sugar Rescue

Oh we've all been there.  Heading to the pantry, intent on the recipe at hand, when suddenly - recipe derailed!  Disaster and disappointment!  No brown sugar; a key ingredient to quite a few recipes.  The following is a quick fix with common household ingredients - think of it as MacGyvering your recipe back on the rails to Yummy Town.  Okay that last bit was a bit much, but I'm sticking with the MacGyvery analogy.

Brown Sugar
(yields 1 cup, plus)

1 cup white sugar
1 cup molasses

Combine and stir, stir, stir! A fork seems to work best if stirring by hand. You could also use a Kitchenaid mixer set on low.

Store indefinitely in an airtight container.  Should the brown sugar become dry, add a piece of apple to keep the moisture level even.

Jessica

Milk Substitution

When I have run out milk and not realized it before my recipe called for a 1/4 cup of milk or some such measurement, I discovered that dry coffee creamer and water will do the trick. Take it or leave it. But if you're desperate, give it a try.

Sincerely, Sarah

Chili con Carne

It is so chilly outside that I decided today is the day to make my chili.

I admit that I like recipes and I particularly like the recipes in Betty Crocker's New Cookbook: Everything You Need To Know to Cook. Sometimes the best part of a recipe is the framework. Make it your own by adjusting the ingredients to your taste.

My (and Betty's) Chili Recipe:
2 pound ground beef
1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)
1/2 green pepper, chopped
4 gloves of garlic, crushed (this is where I use my McCormick Minced Garlic)
2 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
2 teaspoon cocoa
1 teaspoon cocoa
1 teaspoon red pepper sauce (enter my Hot Sauce - Louisiana Style)
2 can (28 ounces) whole peeled tomatoes, undrained
2 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes in puree
2 cans (15 to 16 ounces) red kidney beans, undrained
2 cans (15 to 16 ounces) chili beans, undrained

1. Cook beef, onion, garlic, and green pepper in a big soup pan, stirring occasionally, until the beef is brown; drain (and I rinse the grease off with hot water too).
2. Stir in remaining ingredients except beans, breaking up the tomatoes. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir in beans. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to low. Simmer uncovered about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until desired thickness.

If you don't have time to simmer it an hour, you can double the chili powder and omit the cumin, oregano, cocoa, and pepper sauce. However, slow cooked chili is the best!

You may think that you can't change a recipe but I submit to you that there are several editions of Betty Crocker's book with EVERYTHING you need to know, so there must be room for change here. Why not make the changes your own?

The green pepper was my addition today and I always add more beans and tomatoes than the original recipe. I like to have dark red kidney beans, regular kidney beans, chili beans, etc. because I like the variety in the look, taste, and texture. And, of course, my recipe is doubled because I will feast on chili for at least two days and freeze the rest for a later date.

Sincerely, Sarah

The Joy of Cooking

Is there joy in cooking? I think there should be.

Some people love to cook! Some people cook to get by. Some even struggle through it.

Personally, I can cook but don't technically do it everyday... at least not with fresh ingredients and recipe cards and a lot of time. I may just fit into all three of the above categories.

Recipe Recovery will be a collection of funny (or embarrassing) cooking stories, great recipes, recipe fixes, salvaging dishes, creating allergy safe meals, substitution suggestions, and more.

I hope you will enjoy the stories and try our recipes .... and tell us a few of your own too!

Sincerely, Sarah