Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Creamy Italian Dressing

I found this at Taste is Trump.

Creamy Italian Dressing

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon shallot
1 garlic clove
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/3 cup homemade mayo

Blend in all ingredients in blender.

Monday, April 12, 2010

The Green Monstah Smoothie

I found this recipe at A Moderate Life. and adapted it slightly.

The Green Monstah Smoothie

1 frozen very ripe banana
1 cup mixed frozen berries
1 cup frozen pineapple, papaya or mango, or a combination of the three
1 apple
1 carrot
1 small piece ginger, peeled
1 stalk celery
1/2 cucumber with skin on
1 cup sprouts if you have them
1 cup dark leafy greens like kale, chard, arugula or romaine lettuce***remember to alternate greens over a few days as they contain compounds that can affect your health if eaten in concentration over many days
2 tablespoons whole flax seed
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon coconut shreds

Cut veggies and fresh fruits and place in the blender--add seeds and oil. Add 1/2 cup filtered water and start blending on slow--then turn to high--when that portion is blended--add in the frozen ingredients a bit at a time and blend--adding water as necessary to keep the blender working. Pour and enjoy!

I also add 2-3 prunes or pitted dates to add texture and fiber and sweetness
Wheatgrass juice powder for more vitamins and minerals
2-4 tablespoons of whole fat organic plain yogurt for protein.
1 tablespoon of chia seeds for extra omega-3 fatty acids and fiber...

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Cowboy Cookies

Cowboy Cookies, adapted from Saveur

Ingredients:
1/2 cup white flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
3⁄4 teaspoon baking powder
3⁄4 teaspoon baking soda
3⁄4 teaspoon cinnamon
1⁄4 teaspoon sea salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons brown sugar
1 large egg
3⁄4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3⁄4 cup rolled oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1⁄2 cup pecans, roasted for 10 minutes and chopped (optional; I hate pecans. Peanuts work, though!)

Method:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cream the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until fluffy.

Mix together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt, and add to butter, sugar and egg mixture. Beat until well incorporated, and then stir in oats, chocolate chips and nuts.

Roll dough into walnut-sized balls, place on parchment-sheet lined cookie sheets and bake for 17 minutes.

Should make about 24 cookies.

Hamburger Noodle-y Stuff

This is one of our favorite weeknight meals.

Hamburger Noodle-y Sauce

1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onions (optional)
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp pepper
a 5x batch of cream of chicken...recipe
8 oz. cream cheese
2 pounds pasta

Make the 5x batch of cream of chicken soup. Melt the cream cheese into it when it's thick.

Begin the pasta water heating to a boil. Cook pasta so it is almost finished when the meat is done.

Cook the meat with the onion and garlic. When browned, melt the butter over it. Then sprinkle flour over that and stir to combine the flour and butter. Add the meat to the cream cheese sauce.

Combine prepared, drained pasta and the meat and cheese sauce. Serve with salad.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Honey Peanut Nougat - Big Hunk

I used to LOVE Big Hunk candies. I might try this for some special occasion. I'll store it here until I crave it.

HONEY PEANUT NOUGAT - BIG HUNK


1 cup nuts (of your choice), finely chopped
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
2 1/3 cup marshmallow cream or fluff
1 1/2 tbsp shortening
6 tbsp powdered sugar

1. Prepare a square 8-inch pan by lining it with foil and spraying the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Combine the sugar, honey, corn syrup, and water in a large saucepan over medium heat.

3. Remove from the heat and let cool for 10 minutes.

4. Add the marshmallow cream and shortening, and beat with a hand blender or stir vigorously with a spoon until well mixed.

5. Stir in the powdered sugar and the chopped nuts.

6. Pour into the prepared pan and allow to set at room temperature overnight.

Spring 2010 Canning Inventory

Sadly, I was not faithful in keeping a canning inventory in 2009, so I don't know exactly how much I canned. I'm going to try harder this year to keep up on that. Tonight, I went through the cupboards and counted what's remaining from last years canning. I think we did rather well in estimating what we needed, since I didn't run out of everything. It's rather nice to have the empty cupboards begging for the harvest to begin.

What's left:

3 qts. plum jam
2 qts + 1 pt plum butter
2 pts spiced peach jam
1 pt pomegranate jelly
2 qts soft apple jelly
1 qt apple butter
1 qt orange marmalade
3 pts. lemon marmalade
2 qts apple pie filling
14 qts applesauce
5 pts hot & spicy BBQ sauce
3 qts + 1 pt peaches
1 qt pears
3 qts carrots
4 qts tomato sauce
3 qts green beans
5 qts peppers
6 pts sweet pickles
1 qt tomato sauce

What I know I need to make more of:
Spicy Ro-tel
tomato sauce
salsa, salsa, and more salsa
pinto beans
strawberry and strawberry-based jams (they went fast last year)
apple marmalade (also a favorite)
pizza sauce (I'm canning some right now, as a matter of fact)



Thursday, April 1, 2010

Strawberry Blueberry Jam

Strawberry Blueberry Jam

8 cups strawberries, chopped
4 cups blueberries, crushed
6 cups sugar
6 tsp
Pomona pectin
6 tsp calcium water

Properly prepare jars, lids and rings.

Combine pectin with a small amount of sugar. Set aside. Combine berries and remaining sugar in large stockpot. Allow to sit for a few minutes. Crush berries to desired consistency. I used an immersion blender to liquefy about half of them and let the other half chunky. Add calcium water to pan and stir well.

Bring fruit to a boil. Add the pectin/sugar mixture and stir vigorously for 1-2 minutes to dissolve the pectin.

Fill jars to 1/4". Process in a BWB for 10 minutes.