Freezer Cooking - Lasagna

My youngest daughter is on Spring Break, so I don't have to drive her to the college this week! I decided to take this opportunity to restock my freezer meals as we are completely out.

There is just nothing like being able to pull a healthy, home-cooked meal from your freezer, pop it in the oven and walk away. I'd like to think this would let me relax for a couple of minutes, but really, it frees me up to go work on something else. I'll take what I can get, though. My schedule is maxed out right now, so any break I can get is worth it.

In case I haven't mentioned it before, I have become a huge fan of disposable steamer trays. These half trays are just the right size for when the whole family is visiting, or when it's our smaller group (with a couple of lunch servings left over.) The foil lids let them stack beautifully in the freezer. When dinner's over, throw them out. ;o) I get mine in bulk at Sam's Club.

Leni's Notes:
~Adjust the recipe to include your family's favorite ingredients.
~Cooking has to be flexible with this one, as there are a lot of determining factors. Was it completely thawed before baking? Partially frozen? Did you have other things in the oven? When did you uncover it? Always check with a thermometer or by poking a metal butter knife in the middle and feeling the temp on the end of the knife. (Very scientific, don't you know!)
~Always put a cookie sheet under these pans. Not only will this save your oven should there be any boil-over, but these pans can be very flexible, and you do not want hot cheese and sauce spilling down your legs. Safety first!
~I know you can buy no-boil lasagna noodles. I personally don't like the result. It leaves all that starch in the finished product and everything tastes gummy. Not a fan.
~When I cook the lasagna noodles, I only partially cook them. (about 3/4 of the amount of time instructed.) When they come out of the water, I rinse them and then layer them between sheets of aluminum foil until I'm ready to use them. This works really well!
~I'm using some convenience items here, but I have found that if you do small things like buy block cheese and shred it yourself, you can make lasagna pretty economically. Everything costs time or money, so it depends on what you have available to spend!
~I am not a fan of chunks in my sauce, so I tend to buy smooth marinara. Feel free to buy your favorite sauce, or to throw in some crushed tomatoes with your marinara.

Ingredients:
2 packages whole wheat lasagna noodles, cooked, layered on foil
3 lbs browned ground beef (give or take) cooked with onions, salt and pepper
6 Italian sausages, cooked, cooled and chopped (optional)
1 (3 lb) container ricotta cheese
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
3 eggs
1 cup parmesan cheese
1 Tablespoon each: oregano, basil, parsley
2 ( 24 oz) jars of your favorite marinara
1 (24 oz) jar of water
1 (20 oz) can of tomato puree
2 cloves of garlic
Extra mozzarella for topping


Instructions:
~Combine beef and sausage in one bowl.
~Combine ricotta, mozzarella, eggs, parmesan, oregano, basil and parsley in another bowl.
~Combine marinara, water, tomato puree and garlic in a third bowl.
~Prepare three 13x9 pans with cooking spray or a little olive oil and a pastry brush.
~Start with a thin layer of sauce.
~Follow with layers of: noodles (3 will fit perfectly,) cheese, sauce, noodles, meat, sauce.
~Repeat until all ingredients have been used up.
~Top with extra mozzarella.
~Top each pan with it's lid, seal tightly.
~Label with item name and cooking instructions (including thawing times.)
~Stack neatly in the freezer. (Don't let them tip at all until they are solid frozen or you will have a MESS!)

~When ready to cook, my suggestion is to thaw completely first, then bake at 375 for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
~I usually bake for one hour with the lid on, then take it off, check for doneness and decide if it needs more actual cooking time, or just a little time to brown the top a smidge.
~Remove from oven when done, and let it cool for 15-20 min. This gives the fluids time to settle a bit before serving.

Blessings from my busy kitchen to yours,
Leni

Implementing the Kitchen Plan

Since last Fall, I have been working on a plan to overhaul my kitchen, with as little money as possible. This involved a lot of labor-intensive steps. Marrying off my daughter, hauling out her room, moving all of hubby's stuff into his new music room, selling the treadmill, the list goes on and on. My end game is to have a dishwasher in place before my kids all move out. I've got at least a year or so to work on that.

The first step was to turn my buffet (which had been in the kitchen) into an entertainment center. I wanted the living room to have a more polished, put together look. 

Buffet in it's new home.  

The drawers neatly house all of the DVDs, and our oldest dog thinks we put it there just so that he could sleep underneath it. Our front door is just to the right of the buffet, and this opened up the walk way nicely.

My new shelving, where the buffet used to be. Used the money from selling the treadmill to buy the shelves.

I am also putting in new food rotation shelves for my canned goods. If you are looking for a great product for that, contact Janelle Bird at Shelf Reliance. She is a personal friend and was very helpful when I was trying to figure out exactly what I needed. Will be posting pictures of that set up in the future.

Crock Pot Best Beef Stew

Be honest. Nothing beats a good beef stew. Especially when it's cooking all day while you're at work, and you come home to that wonderful aroma. It just speaks comfort. Add in some fresh-baked rolls or dumplings and you've got a combo that can't be beat.

The first time I made the stew for a crowd, it was for a VBS closing dinner. Everyone thought I was nuts, making hot beef stew for 150 people in the heat of August. But when you're doing a old-style cowboy themed program, how can you not serve up chuck wagon stew? There were skeptics who said kids wouldn't eat something so grown up. I'm here to tell you, those who came late for dinner were left out, because adults and kids alike chowed down that stew like they hadn't eaten in a week. You just can't beat good home cooking!

Here's the great thing about stew. You make it early, and then you leave it alone. You have to let it cook long and low to get the meat tender and the flavors blended. So when you have a big group to feed, or you just don't want to be fussing in the kitchen while you have company, this is a terrific choice. Start it in the morning and leave it alone until you're ready to serve.

This stew has morphed over the years as I've changed my methods trying to find the easiest way to get the best taste. I *think* have found my final version. Gone are the days of browning the meat and deglazing the pan, which defeated the purpose of the crock pot, which was to make everything easy! Also, no taking time to thicken the gravy at the end, everything is done up front.

Leni's Notes
~This recipe translates well when multiplied for a large roaster pan. However, potatoes do not freeze well, so only make enough to eat up in a couple of days.
~This recipe can be adjusted for budget. If you have less money to work with, cut way back on the meat and load it up with more veggies. Just be careful with carrots (too many makes it sweet) and celery (too many, and all you'll taste is celery.)
~Feel free to buy a roast and cut it up, or even to use browned ground beef if that's what you've got. Because of my work schedule, I don't have time to mess with cutting up meat, so I spring for well-trimmed stew beef.
~A loaf of Italian bread or fresh rolls is a terrific accompaniment for this. Dumplings are even better, but not for a crowd. Save those for the intimate family dinners.
~If you're really in a hurry, and don't have time to make a roux in the morning, just put the ingredients in with the broth, and make the roux later. I like to do it ahead of time, because when I get home, I'm too tired to care. ;o)
~This recipe fits well in an 8 quart crock pot, with enough room to not boil over. Beef stew is the only thing I make that consistently boils over! What a mess. Leave an inch of space in the top of the crock to avoid this.


Ingredients
1 1/2 sticks of salted butter
1 1/2 cups white flour
2 quarts beef broth (Pacific Organic)
1/4 cup dry chopped onions
1 T dry basil
1 T dry oregano
2 tsp garlic powder
2-4 tsp sea salt, according to preference
1 1/2 tsp black pepper
1-2 lbs well trimmed stew beef
4-6 white potatoes, cleaned and cubed
4 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped

Instructions
~In dutch oven, melt butter, then whisk in flour, allowing it to cook a little as you mix.
~Slowly add in broth, whisking until all is smooth. (Immersion blender is great for this step.)
~Allow to cook and thicken a bit, stirring to keep from scorching.
~When roux has reached desired thickness, pour into the crock pot.
~Place all remaining ingredients in crock pot and stir.
~Cook on low for 5-6 hours.
~Stir well before serving.
~Enjoy with fresh bread and butter.

Blessings from my cozy home to yours,
Leni

MIA

My apologies for my lack of post for this week. I have been battling a nasty stomach bug, and food is the last thing on my mind. With any luck, I'll be back at it by next week.

Blessings from my quiet kitchen to your (hopefully) healthy and hopping kitchen!
Leni

Cream Cheese Coconut Tarts

Ah, a special treat from our past, which I made for hubby for Valentine's Day.  Individual serving tarts with a flaky cream cheese crust, and a sweet, chewy filling. Steve is partial to the coconut filling, but they can also be made with chopped nuts or raisins, or a combination. They make a beautiful presentation, and are fairly easy to make. 

My apologies for the blurry picture, I had to snap a picture quick with my phone before my family ate them all!

Leni's Notes:

~I have no idea where this recipe originated, but we've been making it for years, and they are somewhat fool-proof. OK, nothing is fool-proof, but even when these get messed up a little bit, they still work out. Very forgiving recipe.

~The original recipe calls for corn syrup. I have a moral objection to corn syrup. I used a simple syrup, made by boiling equal amounts of raw sugar and water until everything was dissolved and then cooled. I have also used agave syrup and brown rice syrup in the past, and have thought about trying maple syrup or honey. 

~I used a silicone pan, and did not need to grease the pans. Just make sure you let them cool completely before you try to remove them from the pan.

Ingredients:

Dough:
8 ounces cream cheese
2 cups flour

1 cup cold butter

Filling:
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup simple syrup
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter
2 cups chopped nuts, raisins, or shredded coconut

Instructions:

~Place flour and cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl and blend. 

~Cut in cold butter until crumbly and continue mixing until mixture forms a dough, using hands if necessary.
~Portion dough into 24 small balls.

~Lightly grease muffin tins and place one ball of dough in each cup.

~Press dough up onto cup sides, making a little "bowl" or "cup" shape.

~Put all filling ingredients into a separate bowl and mix until well-blended.

~Spoon filling evenly into the individual cups.

~Bake tins at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until filling is slightly solidified (it will set a little more once out of the oven, but should still be slightly liquid once done).

~Let cool completely before removing from pan.

Enjoy!

Blessings from my Valentine kitchen to yours,

Leni

The Gang's All Here Sweet & Savory Pork Tenderloin

As you may have deduced, I enjoy cooking for friends and family. ;o) I'm always playing with recipes, tweaking and experimenting. While I love doing that, I also like to keep a nice supply of go-to meals. The type the everyone loves, and for the most part never go wrong when I make them. Today's recipe might look familiar, as it was inspired by ChanceLee Chicken.

I was looking for something I could make for a large group without losing quality in the cooking. I decided to make it with pork tenderloin. That turned out to be a terrific choice! I love the way my house smells when I make this stuff. 

I made some changes to the recipe, nothing too major. I like making this dish for company because the sweetness makes it a huge hit with the kids, and the spicy makes it have a nice taste for the grown ups, also. The kiddos at dinner (aged 7 and under) were pleased and asking for seconds, so that makes me a happy camper. Pretty sure my 16 year old faked illness to come home early from an overnight so she could have some too. ;o)

Leni's Notes

~This recipe is intended to feed a large group (we got 14 servings,) so scale down accordingly. 

~Also pictured above, stir fried french green beans and egg noodles with butter and parsley. Also good with cous cous and carrots.

~Every time you warm it up, the sauce gets a little thicker and the sweet gets a little more intense, so you might want to add some water to thin it and maybe some more salt or soy sauce if you have leftovers.

~Generally when I list soy sauce, I mean Bragg's Liquid Aminos. This time we used Coconut Aminos. The taste was good, but it had half the sodium, so the finished product needed salt. (Coconut Aminos are crazy expensive, but if you have an allergy to soy, a nice alternative.)

~Replace the pepper with cayenne for an extra spice kick.

Ingredients

4 pork tenderloins

1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup ginger ale

2 Tbls. lemon juice
6 Tbls. minced garlic
4 Tbls. soy sauce
2 tsp. white pepper 

1/4-1/2 cup corn starch

Instructions

~Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

~Sear tenderloins in a cast iron pan with olive oil.

~Place tenderloins in a greased 13 x 9 pan.

~ Mix the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and pour over tenderloin.

~Place in oven, uncovered, for 45-60 minutes, until a meat thermometer says they are done.

~Remove from pan, slice into tenderloin coins, and place in a dish or on a platter, and pour sauce over the top.

~Serve with your favorite side dishes.

Blessings from my kitchen to yours,

Leni

Peppermint Ice Cream Cake

Ice Cream cake? In February? In Upstate NY? No, I haven't lost my mind, it was a special request from my daughter.

Yes indeed, this weekend we celebrated my baby girl's sixteenth birthday! 

Isn't she beautiful? More importantly, she's got a beautiful spirit.  My baby is growing up. *sniff, sniff*  To mark the special occasion, I made her a cake I first made over 20 years ago for her big sister's first birthday. Come to think of it, that might have been the last time I made it!

We had planned a day of shopping with the Thrift Store Teen Queen, but the snowy weather kept us from leaving town.  So instead, we stayed home and ate ice cream cake, of course. ;o)

Leni's Notes:
~While my family loved the way I made the peppermint layer, I think if I make it again, I will cut down on the amount of peppermint patties. Only because it makes it kind of chewy when it's frozen. I seemed to be the only one who noticed.
~This will fit into 2 13x9 pans or one larger pan.

Ingredients:
2 containers chocolate sandwich cookies (Oreo type)
1 half gallon chocolate or vanilla ice cream
1 regular sized bag of York Peppermint Patties
1/2 - 1 Cup cream
2 T coconut oil (You could use shortening if you need to)
4 C whipped cream

Instructions:
~Crush cookies in a plastic bag, and place into the bottom of the pan, reserving a cup of crumbs.
~Slice or scoop ice cream and put on top of the cookies.
~Let the ice cream melt over the cookies while you make the chocolate sauce. (Not completely to liquid, just til it's soft enough to push down over the crust.)
~In a double boiler, place the candies and oil, and turn on the burner to medium. (I break the candies up a bit.)
~As they start to melt, add in the cream, and stir occasionally.
~When the sauce is smooth, dump the hot water out of the double boiler and set the sauce aside to cool a bit.
~While the ice cream is melting, press it down over the cookies.
~Drizzle peppermint sauce over the ice cream, reserving about half a cup.
~Cover with whipped cream.
~Lightly drizzle with remaining sauce, then sprinkle cookie crumbs over the top.
~Cover with plastic wrap, and place on an even surface in the freezer.

~When ready to serve, remove from the freezer half an hour before cutting.

Blessings from my kitchen to yours,
Leni

Sloppy Joes for the Freezer

Currently Mondays are turning out to be the worst possible day for me to post recipes. Or to cook. To be fair, I don't really have a good day to cook, unless I get to it on the weekends. So I've gone back to my old practice for stocking the freezer. Once a week, I pick one meal to make in bulk and I put 3 of them in the freezer. Right now, my deep freeze has a nice stock of lasagna, enchilada casserole, chicken in gravy and sloppy joes.

Thankfully, my family is willing and able to help out. This goes really well, right up until I get distracted while writing down a recipe. My husband got a huge kick out of today's recipe calling for a good measure of black powder. You know, to give it some kick! lol. It would be fair to say my brain is a bit muddled. 

Today's recipe is a crock pot recipe that freezes well. Two of my favorite things. Not a lot of notes on this one, it's simple, yummy, and makes the masses happy. 

Leni's Notes:

~This recipe serves 3 meals for my family, with leftovers for lunches.

~Tater tots are the traditional side dish in our household. 

~Freeze the leftovers quickly, or your family will eat more than you intended and it won't stretch as far!

~This is also a great meal for kid's parties.

Ingredients

6 lbs ground beef, browned and drained

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 T. paprika

1 1/2 T chili powder

3/4 C brown sugar or raw sugar

6 tsp cumin

6 tsp salt

6 tsp corn starch

3 tsp garlic powder

1 1/2 tsp dry mustard

1 1/2 tsp pepper (not black powder!)

29 oz can plain tomato sauce

Instructions

~Dump everything in a large crock pot (I used my 8 quart.)

~Cook on low for 5-6 hours or high for 3-4 hours.

~Serve over split rolls, with slices of cheddar or colby jack cheese.

~Freeze extras in gallon ziplocs. 

Minor Delay

Hey folks! Been sick as can be for over a week now, so there's been no action in the kitchen. Thankfully, I had freezer meals stashed, and have a husband who can cook, so no one is starving to death. Hoping to be back in the saddle soon. Oy.

Ginger Pumpkin Trifle

This recipe came about in an attempt to combine as many of my husbands favorites as possible into one dessert. Pudding, whipped cream, pumpkin, cake...how can you go wrong? 

Well, you could realize half way through that you don't have any vanilla. Or you could totally underestimate the length of time the project will take. But never fear, I persevered, and my man was thrilled with the result. Mission accomplished!

On a side note, Steve, being the wise man he is, does what he can to encourage me to keep cooking. For this recipe I got to use my new immersion blender on the whipped cream. I love that tool! 

Leni's Notes:
~I took a short cut when I realized how much I had to do. I used a box mix for gingerbread instead of making my own. Any gingerbread will do, but you want enough to fill a 13x9 pan.
~The pudding is made purposely runny so that it will soak into the cake. If you want it firmer, use less pumpkin or more thickener.
~Feel free to cut the pudding recipe in half. I made extra because I knew that my family would make good use of the the extras. ;o)
~Regular whipped cream would work in this, but we ended up loving the version I made. It lended a nice flavor to the over all dish.

Layers:

Ingredients: Gingerbread
This is where I cheat. I recommend Krusteaz if you're not going to make it from scratch.

Instructions: Gingerbread
~Bake the cake, then cut into small squares, and spread out on a bigger pan to cool.
~Do not cover, you want it to kind of dry out.

Ingredients: Pumpkin Pudding
1 C raw sugar
2/3 C flour
6 Cup whole milk
4 eggs, beaten
1 (29 oz) can solid pack pumpkin (about 3 1/2 cups)
1 Tbls vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon

Instructions: Pumpkin Pudding
~Mix sugar and flour in large pot with a whisk.
~Pour in milk slowly, whisking until combined.
~Heat over medium high heat, stirring constantly.
If it starts to scorch or stick, reduce heat. Don't walk away, you'll ruin the whole batch!
~When mixture starts to thicken and get bubbly, remove from heat.

~In a medium bowl, place beaten eggs. Slowly add in 2 cups of hot milk mixture, stirring continuously.
~Add pumpkin, and mix until thoroughly combined.
~Add egg mixture back into the pot with milk mixture and put back over medium heat.
~Continue to stir until mixture is just starting to boil.
~Remove from heat, add in vanilla and cinnamon.
~Put in bowl, and place saran wrap directly on surface.
~Place in fridge and let cool completely.

Ingredients: Whipped Cream
2 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream
1/4 C powdered sugar
3 tsp pure maple extract

Instructions: Whipped Cream
If you have an immersion blender, now is your chance to use it! 
~Combine ingredients in a cold dish.
~Blend with hand mixer until cream holds a stiff peak.

Instructions: Layering
~Once the cake and pudding are completely cool, start the layering process.
~Cake, Pudding, Whipped Cream.
~Repeat.
~Top with cake crumbs.
~Cover and refrigerate.

Depending on the size of the bowl you use, you should have a little cake leftover and about half of the pudding. Enjoy as you see fit! ;o)

Blessings from my kitchen to yours,
Leni

Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

New Year's Eve has come and gone, and somehow I never managed to get here to post my recipe. My apologies. Had the family home all week with no work (for them, anyways) or school and we tried to just enjoy. 

So, this was my first attempt at Stuffed Mushrooms. I think it could use some tweaking, but my family said to leave it alone. Hmmm. I shall post it as it was prepared. ;o)

Leni's Notes:
~These were great to make ahead and then refrigerate just before the baking step. Nice for a party, so you can get the work done a day or so ahead of time.
~This version did not have a lot of extra fluid (which I happen to think it could have used, but I digress.) They weren't sloppy to eat. Again, good for a party.
~I used mild sausage, feel free to kick it up with hot sausage.
~Ingredients I would consider adding next time: reconstituted dry onion, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 6 minced mushroom stems.

Ingredients:
4 links of Italian sausage, cooked and refrigerated until completely cooled.
32 oz package of baby bella mushrooms (I used Wegmans Food You Feel Good About)
10 oz (give or take) chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 Cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 - 3/4 Cup shredded parmesan
1-2 Tablespoons lemon juice
Salt & Pepper to taste

Instructions:
~Place cooled sausage in food processor and mince until it has an even crumbly texture.
~Pour into a larger bowl, and add spinach, panko, parmesan, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
~Thoroughly mix ingredients.
~Wipe off mushrooms, and remove stems.  (save the stems to add to another recipe.;o)
~Grease baking dish.
~Place a mushroom cap in the palm of your hand, and pack the filling in until it resembles a golfball.

~Bake at 450 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until browned.

Leftovers warm up well. ;o)

Blessings from my kitchen to yours, and Happy New Year!
Leni

End of Year Giving

I know, every organization on the planet wants you to make a year-end donation. If you're have the ability and are looking for a place to donate, please consider Blood:Water Mission.  I've been donating here for years and following their work.

Honestly, the fact that in this day and age, there are children who don't have access to clean drinking water is unbelievable. This should not be so.

If you have it to give, that's terrific. If you don't, that's ok too. Just thought I'd mention it. ;o)

Happy New Year!

I'm working on some appetizers for tonight, I'll post later after work. Currently working on stuffed mushrooms and crab appetizers.

Hope you all have safe plans for tonight. We'll be having our traditional BBC Marathon, with a twist. Since Doctor Who ran such a short season this year, we've also recorded some Top Gear. There will be food and board games. Can't wait to see what my son-in-law and daugther bring. Excellent cooks! As it is, we have a slew of desserts to add to the mix because they gave each of us a custom treat for Christmas. Yum!

Ring in the new year with people you love. If you're far from home and loved ones, go find someone's day to brighten up!

Easy Hot Fudge

Whether you're looking for a simple, yummy gift to give for Christmas, or just having a serious chocolate craving, this hot fudge will do the trick. 

Many years ago, when Steve and I were dating, he introduced me to the best holiday treat ever. Peppermint Stick Ice Cream with Hot Fudge. How I had never come across this before is beyond me, but now it brings about the happiest memories for me. I was grocery shopping recently, and to my delight came across the coveted ice cream! There was nothing to do but grab some hot fudge and head home for a feast. Then I saw the price of a jar of hot fudge! Crazy! Especially when it's full of nasty stuff that does not make chocolate taste better.

So I detoured to the baking aisle to grab a couple of ingredients, and high-tailed it home to whip up some fudge while dinner was finishing up. 

Leni's Notes:
~Easy to dress up with some peppermint extract.
~This recipe will fill a one quart canning jar, with left overs. For gift giving, use jelly jars and dress up with some ribbon. Warms well in a water bath.
~Use this for one of the layers of an ice cream cake. I think I need to post that recipe too. Haven't made it in years. Yum...

Ingredients:
2 cans of sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 - 2 bags of good quality chocolate chips

Instructions:
~Place the chips in a glass bowl.
~Warm the sweetened condensed milk over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
~When milk starts to steam (best not to let it boil) remove from heat, and pour over chips.
~Stir gently until chips are all melted.
~If you're going to add any extracts, now would be the time to do so.
~Ladle over ice cream or whatever your little heart desires.
~Pour extras into canning jars and cover.
~Store in fridge, warm in a water bath.

Blessings from my kitchen to yours,
Leni

A Minor Rant about Quality Ingredients

Our little town only has a discount grocery store. Honestly, I am so thankful that we are finally able to support a grocery store! However, products are not always of the highest quality, so I try to be careful.

The other day I needed sour cream, and really did not want to drive to the next town over to get it. So I grabbed some from the local store. Fast forward to today. I was making a layered dip for the kids to take to a Christmas party. I was trying to spread out the sour cream on top, and that stuff just would not spread! It glopped. I finally added some milk to thin it out so I could evenly coat the dip without ruining the layers.

I have never had this problem with other sour cream (Great Value or Daisy.) Let's investigate the ingredients, shall we?

Discount Brand: Cultured cream, milk solids nonfat, modified food starch, sodium phosphate, sodium citrate, guar gum, carrageenan, locust bean gum and potassium sorbate.

Great Value Brand: Cultured pasteurized milk, cream, nonfat milk, enzyme.

First of all, the fewer ingredients the better, as far as I'm concerned. I'd also like to be able to identify them all. That first brand has four thickeners in it. No wonder I couldn't spread it! I did a taste test of both of them, and there is a huge difference. The discount brand looks and feels like sour cream, but has none of the sour cream tang.

You might pay less for an item, but make sure you're paying for the actual item and not fillers that make it look normal but aren't the true product!

A Day in the Kitchen Preparing for Christmas

The day has arrived. My self-imposed deadline for all Christmas cooking. The next three days are going to be back-to-back Christmas celebrations, and I don't want to be having to leave parties early to go home and get ready for the next party!

So, I made huge mountains of Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls on Thursday, and have already begun distributing them to teachers, pastors and other folks on our list.

Yesterday I made two super-secret gift desserts for my kids. (I'll fill you in later on those!)

Today's list:

5 Layer Mexican Dip for teen party tonight

Another couple dozen cinnamon rolls to take to my family's big Christmas bash Sunday afternoon.

Applesauce and Pumpkin Pies for Chirstmas Eve Brunch with the inlaws.

Zuppa Toscana for family gathering here at home after church on Christmas Eve.

Veggie Gratin and Scalloped Pineapple for Christmas Day at my mom's.

Orange cookies if I still feel up to it. So probably not. ;o)

It's going to be a long day, but when all is done I can just relax. Ooh, or I could wrap Christmas presents! oy. I used to do them Christmas Eve until the year I spent tilt he wee hours of Christmas morning in the ER checking for broken ribs. (An enthusiastic toddler and wrestling can end very badly sometimes.) When we finally got home with a diagnosis of badly bruised ribs and orders for me to rest and not lift anything for the next 48 hours, we still had all the presents to wrap! My poor husband. lol.

Off and running! Hope your holiday planning is coming along swimmingly, and that you enjoy this season with your family. When the chaos overtakes you, remember that we're celebrating the Savior's birth, and try to relax and love on your family!

Blessings from my chaotic kitchen to yours!
Leni

Off the Food Track for a Moment

This is a post I shared on Facebook a bit ago, and I wanted to share here, also. Mainly because I continue to be amazed that maybe the Fibromyalgia nightmare is coming to an end.

To my lovely friends who live with fibromyalgia, I have to share with you. 10 months ago, I went off my synthetic thyroid medicine and started taking a natural form from a compounding pharmacist in Rochester. I did this after reading reports of MANY women who developed fibro after being on synthetic thyroid meds for 5 years. As of about three months ago, 90% of my fibro symptoms are GONE. I feel like I've been set free from a prison. Passing it along in case it might help any of you.

I also have been seeing an Acupuncturist and a Chiropractor who has more degrees in alternative medicine than I can count. He is the one who first suggested (very firmly) that I get off the synthetic thyroid. 


Really, I feel amazing. Minor set backs here and there, but I went 48 hours without Neurontin the other day, and didn't realize it! I had to get back on it to chase off the pain in my legs, but I usually can't function once I hit that 24 hour mark, so this was astonishing.

I hope this will be a help to someone out there. Please don't hesitate to ask questions if there's something more you'd like to know. 

Blessings,
Leni

Tiramisu Inspired Dessert

 

Let me tell you a story about my attempt at Tiramisu.  

I wanted to do something special for my hubby for our 21st anniversary. As it would happen, my dearest friend in the world was also coming into town, and bringing her Prince Charming with her. So now the celebration morphed into an Anniversary/Woohoo-Karen-got-the-job/Happy-Birthday-to-Matt type of thing. This calls for something big! Something I've never done before. Something everyone loves. Tiramisu. 

Have you ever looked at recipes for this lovely dessert? If you look at one, you might be doing ok. If you look at more than one, you can be sure that none of the recipes will agree with each other and your head will start to swim with all of the ingredients and instructions that each person insists you MUST DO to be authentic! Eggs, no eggs. Raw eggs, or cooked eggs? Rum, Amaretto, Marsala? No alcohol at all! Lady Fingers? No, pound cake! Marscapone or cream cheese? Both? Only use Espresso! Just use coffee!

I gave up on authentic before I even began. In fact, I gave up on recipes. I decided to ditch it all and just wing it, making my own recipe. I hesitate to call this Tiramisu, because I'm sure purists would stone me or something. It might be well deserved. So we're going with Tiramisu-inspired.

I nervously gathered my ingredients and immediately ran into problems. Not just any problems, Baptist Girl problems. (BGP) The original recipe called for alcohol of some sort. I am not strictly opposed to alcohol, and actually like to use it for cooking. I happen to have an inherited bottle of amaretto, and was excited that I could use it for this. My BGP was not a conflict over using alcohol, it was a struggle over opening it. I couldn't get the top off! It's been a couple of years since I baked anything with it, but I'm reasonably sure I didn't have this kind of trouble before. I called my daughter to help me. The first thing she said was, "WHAT are you doing with that bottle, missy?!" She's a funny girl. Alas, even my muscle-bound teenager couldn't get the top off, so I dismissed that idea and moved on. So much for Plan A.

Rum extract! Not ideal, but it would help the flavoring. Do you think we could find even a drop of rum extract?? I know for a fact that I have at least 2 bottles floating around somewhere. But it was definitely not on the shelf full of extracts where it belonged. Good-bye to Plan B.

Plan C involved a total reworking of the recipe I had in mind, but I think it worked. I would not serve it to someone who was an expert on Tiramisu, as it would likely be a huge disappointment to them. But I don't think anyone will spit it out in disgust. (There were moments I thought that might be a possibility...)

So, below you will see the recipe for my final attempt. Should you try it, I'd love your feedback. Especially if you have tasted the real deal. I'd like to know how close I got. ;o)

Leni's Notes

~This made a 13x9 pan, there was enough filling that I probably could have made another smaller dish, but I just layered up extra filling. 

~Other than making coffee, there's no cooking involved in my version.

~I feel like this would freeze really well. I might save a piece and try it, it would make a terrific dish to make ahead for the holidays, and then just pull out to thaw the day of.

~Don't yell at me for doing it wrong. Remember, Tiramisu Inspired.

~Budget played a roll in my choice of ingredients. If you've got money to spend and want to go for marscapone instead of cream cheese, go for it! 

~Having now served the tiramisu, I can say that next time I would definitely use at least half marscapone, if not all.

~This one took a bit more time than I usually spend on a recipe. I think it would go faster with experience, but for a no-bake recipe, it took me a while. Probably all the decision making I was doing along the way.

~This plates beautifully! I served it with coffee. A lovely night was had by all.

Ingredients

2 Cups of Decaf Espresso or strongly brewed coffee, cooled

2 Tablespoons of raw sugar

3 packages of Lady Fingers. (Each package had about 40 small lady fingers)

4 (8 oz) blocks of cream cheese, softened

3/4 Cup raw sugar

2 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream 

2 tsp vanilla extract

Cocoa Powder

Instructions

~Brew the coffee, and mix in the 2 T of sugar. 

~Place in the fridge to cool.

~Cream together cream cheese and sugar until smooth

~Whip the heavy cream and vanilla extract until you have soft peaks, but not runny.

~Fold the cream mixture into the cream cheese mixture.

~Separate the lady fingers.

~Dip the lady fingers into the coffee and place in pan.

IMPORTANT NOTE! This is a very quick process, 2 seconds or less. Any more than that will have them falling apart in your hand.

~Put a layer of dipped lady fingers in the pan, making sure you've covered in all with the fingers laying flat.

~Gently spread half of the cream mixture over the lady fingers.

~Layer a dusting of cocoa powder over the cream mixture.

~Repeat layers.

~Cover tightly with plastic or foil and place in fridge for a minimum of 2 hours.

If all goes well, you should be able to cut a square of this dessert to plate for your guests.

Blessings from my kitchen to yours,

Leni

Sweet and Sour Meatballs for a Crowd

Today's recipe is one I used for my daughter's wedding, and a number of times for our Labor Day party when we were using the Luau theme. You can't go wrong with Sweet and Sour Meatballs. Unless of course, there's an abundance of bees, because those little stinkers LOVE pineapple! Our 1st Annual Davis Labor Day Party was almost a disaster because of the invasion of bees. What's worse is that the next day, we pulled leftovers out of the fridge, and discovered bees had burrowed down into them, and were coming out to investigate! I have an admittedly unreasonable fear of bees, so it was kind of a nightmare come true.

I don't have a picture currently, because I took the last of the meatballs to the Christmas Cookie Exchange. ;o) So here's a picture of the wedding party, who is obviously thrilled, because they are finally going to get to eat meatballs! 

This recipe is insanely easy. You can make it difficult if you want to, by making your own meatballs. If you want to do that, I suggest the Meatball Evolution recipe.  That said, I find meatballs to be a pain in the tuckus to make! They just don't last long enough for the amount of work they take. I only make them if I need them for someone who can't do all the fillers in store-bought meatballs. So, unless you need a specific menu, buy the frozen ones, and throw this sauce over them in the crock pot. 

Leni's Notes:

~This more than filled our 18 quart roaster. This will do the roaster REALLY full, pluse a crock pot or two. Or better yet, get two roasters, and fill them both about half way so you have room to stir.

~If you're not having a wedding reception for 200 people, maybe cut the recipe down a bit. ;o)

~If you want to make a meal of this rather than appetizers, serve with rice or egg noodles. Wonderful. 

~If you have extras, they freeze really well, which makes for a quick dinner on busy nights.

~Not that it effects the flavor, but if you have a variety of bell peppers, the red, orange and green look beautiful on the plate.
~When I originally made this, it had soy sauce in it. (I used Bragg's Liquid Amino Acids.) It adds a nice fullness and cuts the sweetness, but as so many have trouble with MSG and soy, I just decided to leave it out.

Ingredients:

2 cups cornstarch

8 cups brown sugar

16 (15 ounce) can pineapple chunks, juice reserved

5 & 1/3 cup vinegar

6 chunked and seeded bell peppers
(Optional - 1 Cup soy sauce)

Instructions:

~Place meatballs, drained pineapple and chunks of green pepper into the roaster pan.

~Stir the cornstarch and brown sugar together in a saucepan and place over low heat.

~Add the reserved pineapple juice and vinegar; stir until smooth.

~Bring the mixture to a boil; pour over the meatballs in the slow cooker. 

~Cook the mixture in the slow cooker on low until the flavors are thoroughly combined, 3 to 4 hours. (If you do the big roaster, you might need more time, especially if the meatballs are crowded together.)

Blessings from my kitchen to yours,

Leni

Creamy Blueberry Pie and No Roll Pie Crust

I feel so cut off! My laptop is being repaired, and I've been without it for about a week and a half. Who knew you could wear out the hinges? And who knew how expensive they would be to replace? Thankfully we have a friend who will do the work for us, and do a terrific job. Meanwhile, I'm living on my tablet and realizing that indeed, I cannot survive with just a tablet!

OK, I'm done whining. ;o) I know it's not Monday, but I've got a recipe for you, so I'm going to throw it out there and hope you enjoy!

I made this pie for hubby's birthday this year. The recipe that inspired this came from Penzey's Spice catalog. I've now changed it so much, it's not really their recipe any more. I've done a lot of trial and error with this recipe. We once had blueberry soup in a crust! Still tasted good, but kinda hard to serve. It was just too hit or miss, so I finally just revamped the whole thing. This version of the recipe got good reviews and my son-in-law said not to change a thing, so I'm putting it down in stone, so to speak.

Sometimes you just want a blueberry pie when blueberries aren't in season, so this recipe is specifically for frozen blueberries. 

~If you make this pie while the blueberries are still frozen, they don't get mushy, and you get almost a raw blueberry texture. Great if you like that texture, but if you don't, let them thaw first, and add all the juice into the pie.
~This uses a no-roll pie crust which really is ridiculously easy, which is why I love it. I hate making pie crust.
~If you don't have a bulk food resource for getting whole wheat pastry flour, Bob's Red Mill makes a nice one. If all else fails, you can use white flour.
~You may want to check the edges for over-browning half way through cooking time, and cover if it's getting burned.

Ingredients
4 Cups large blueberries (not those teeny tiny ones that have no flavor)
2/3 Cup raw sugar
1/2 Cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1 Cup half & half

Instructions
~Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
~Pour berries into the pastry shell.
~Whisk together sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt.
~Stir in the half & half, whisk until smooth.
~Pour over the berries and bake for 45 minutes.
~Cool on a wire rack and refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.
~Top with whipped cream if you've got it!

No Roll Pie Crust - Mix everything in the pie plate!

Ingredients
1 1/2 Cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp. raw sugar
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 Cup coconut oil, melted
3 TB. milk

Instructions
~Put all ingredients into a 9 inch pie pan. 
~Mix with a fork until well blended and pat into the pan. 
~Push the pastry up the sides and form a nice edge with your thumb and finger. 
~Fill with pie filling and bake according to instructions. 

Blessings from my kitchen to yours,
Leni