Stuffed Artichokes

My grandmother's recipe:

Of course I modified because I don't have the stale french bread to make the bread crumbs.  And I wasn't making 12 artichokes.

But I stuffed 2 artichokes and placed them in a pot with about an inch of water, covered, and simmered until the leaves were easily pulled off, about 1.5 hours.

The biggest fan?  Hansie.

Mama's boy for sure/  

Peanut Butter Cookies

Freddie's been asking to make "cookies with the lines on the top" for a while, so we found recipe online but tweaked it a little by adding more peanut butter.  These are really yummy!

Ingredients:  

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Directions:

1. Cream together butter, peanut butter, and sugars.
2. Beat in eggs
3. Add remaining ingredients.
4. Refrigerate batter for 1 hour.
5. Roll into 1 inch balls, flatten each with a fork.
6. Bake at 375 degrees for 9-10 minutes.

Notes:

• Mine were much bigger than 1 inch balls and so I baked them for quite a bit longer.  15 minutes maybe?  I am not good with making appropriately sized cookies for some reason.
• This recipe made a lot of cookies!!  

Cabbage Casserole

I wanted to make a traditional New Year's meal with cabbage, but I am not a big fan of plain smothered cabbage and greens.  So Lizzie passed this recipe along.  Be warned, it's yummy and makes A LOT!  Also, processed cheese food, Velveeta, Rotel, and Jimmy Dean sausage were no where to be found in our neighborhood...shaking my head.  Somehow I managed to track down some appropriate substitutes.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Jimmy Dean Sausage
• 1 lb ground meat
• 1 large onion
• 1 bell pepper
• 1 head cabbage, chopped
• 1 cup cooked rice
• 1 can Rotel, drained
• 16 oz Velveeta
• 1 stick butter
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tbs flour
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Brown sausage and beef and drain.
2. Add chopped onion and bell pepper and sauté until limp.
3. Add cabbage and smother for about 25-20 minutes.
4. Add can of Rotel and 1 cup rice.
5. In a saucepan combine Velveeta, milk, and butter.  Whisk in flour.
6. Pour over cabbage and meat mixture and mix thoroughly.
7. Transfer to a large casserole dish.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour

Lemon Blueberry Bread

I haven't posted many recipes lately since I haven't been trying much of anything new.  I'm actually in a cooking rut over here so if you have any ideas, especially for creative and easy starch sides, please send them my way.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 eggs
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts
• 2 tablespoons grated lemon peel

Glaze Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 cup sugar

Directions:

1. Beat the butter, sugar, lemon juice and eggs.
2. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt
3. stir into egg mixture alternately with milk,
4. Fold in the blueberries, nuts and lemon peel.
5. Pour into a greased loaf pan.
6. Bake at 350° for 60-70 minutes
7. Mix glaze ingredients.  
8. Pour over warm loaf.

Notes:

• I pureed the blueberries because the kids and the daddy aren't fond of fruit chunks.  I live with some picky eaters.  I blame their mothers.  I did add a few to the top before sticking it in the oven.
• I skipped the lemon peel because I didn't have any and it is a PAIN to get 2 tablespoons grated peel!
• I left out the nuts so I could send some to school with the boys.  The preschool is nut free (pain!).
• I skipped the glaze.  It probably makes it even yummier, but I thought it to be enough sugar as is.  
• This was ok, which is my opinion of almost all quick breads.  Nothing really compares to my banana bread.  I may attempt to use that as a base and add random fruits.  If you haven't tried it, I recommend you get to baking.  

Spaghetti Squash Au Gratin

So, all the recipes for this one say it's supposed to taste like hashbrown casserole.  Well, don't make it to substitute for hashbrown casserole because it is NOT an adequate sub for cheesy potato yumminess.  It is an ok, healthy side.  We had it with pork chops.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium spaghetti squash
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 small yellow onion, cut in half and very thinly sliced
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more if you like it spicy
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
• ½ cup sour cream
• ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Poke holes in the squash and place on a plate in the microwave for 15 minutes, turning half way through.
2. In a medium sized skillet over medium heat, add the butter, onions, red pepper and thyme and cook until the onions are slightly brown in color. Salt and pepper to taste.
3. Slice the squash in half and remove the seeds.  
4. Scrape the insides of the squash and combine the squash, onions, sour cream and half the cheese together and mix well. 
5. Place the mixture to a buttered baking dish and top with remaining cheese.
6. Bake at 375º for 15 – 20 minutes until golden brown on top.

Playdough

This will be a winter staple around here.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 2 cups warm water
• 1 cup salt
• 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 Tablespoon cream of tartar (This helps elasticity, but can be left out)

Directions:

1. Mix al ingredients in a heavy pot.
2. Warm over low heat, stirring frequently.
3. When thickened and no longer sticky it is ready!
4. Let cool.

Tips:

• Mix in food coloring or koolaid packets for color.
• It will last for a bit in a sealed container but does have a tendency to get sticky so it may need to be cooked down again or flour added.

Apple Pie

The fruit of our labor.  Mama is the only one who really enjoys apple pie though.  She ate it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Ingredients:

• 1 pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 8 apples - peeled, cored and sliced

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degree Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water and sugars. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer.  Put bottom crust in pan. Fill with apples. Cover with lattice crust. Pour sugar mixture over the crust. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350. Bake another 40 minutes.

 

White Trash

Folks love this stuff.  My friend, Ellen, introduced me to it.
Ingredients:

• 9 cups of cereal such as chex, honeycomb, kix, cheerios
• 2 cups of pretzel sticks
• 2 cups mixed nuts
• 2 cups M&Ms
• 2 11oz bags of white chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Mix cereal, pretzels, nuts and M&Ms.
2. Melt chips.  I did this in the microwave:  2 minutes and stir until smooth.
3. Pour melted chips over mix and stir well until mix is evenly coated.
4. Pour mix onto large pan and allow chocolate to harden.
5. Break into small pieces.

Notes:

• I sprayed the bowl and pan with Pam beforehand.  This made clean up easy.  
• Store in an airtight container.
• Use holiday colored M&Ms to make it more festive.

Havarti Potatoes

I made these to celebrate Charlie's victory...his cholesterol was lower than mine.  It's not heart healthy, but it is so yummy.  I LOVE havarti cheese.

Ingredients:

• 3.5 lbs potatoes, sliced, I leave the skin on because it's easy
• 12 oz. Havarti, shredded
• 6 tablespoons flour
• 3 cups cream or milk
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Crush bouillon and mix with milk.
• Layer potatoes, flour, and cheese three times.
• Pour milk and bouillon over the top.
• Bake for about 60 minutes until browned and bubbly.  

Bird Nests for Easter

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 6 cups rice krispies (or puffed rice cereal)
• 10 oz marshmallow (4 cups miniature marshmallows)
• Candy "eggs"  (I used Robin Eggs and Almond M&Ms)
• Peeps

Directions:

1. Melt marshmallows and butter.  I did this in 2 minutes in the microwave.
2. Mix in cereal.
3. Using oiled or buttered hands form balls of mixture into next shape.  I pressed each into a cupcake pan sprayed with Pam just to make things easier.  
4. Add eggs and a Peep.  
5. Let firm.

Notes:

• Dye some coconut green to add to the nest for grass.  Not many fans of coconut in our house so I didn't bother.
• This made about 20 cupcake size nests.  You can form them to whatever size you like.

Wacky Cake

These are great cupcakes for the allergic or vegan crowd.  They're egg and milk free.  Freddie has a friend with an egg allergy and this recipe was recommended.  I made two batches of cupcakes, the usual which includes egg and a batch of wacky cake, because I was afraid these would be far from yummy.  They were actually pretty tasty and in the future I'll just do wacky cake since there seems to be at least one person in the group avoiding eggs or milk these days.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup white sugar 4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 tablespoon cider vinegar 6 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 cup water Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F Sift dry ingredients into an 8x8 ungreased pan.   Add liquid ingredients directly to the pan, making it a one pan recipe, stir well with a fork. Bake for 30-40 minutes. Note: I made cupcakes instead.  I baked at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes. This yielded 12 cupcakes.

Flourless Peanutbutter Cookies

Creating yummy treats in the kitchen is the perfect way to spend a blustery cold afternoon.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup natural peanut butter, smooth or crunchy
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Using a hand or stand mixer, mix the peanut butter, sugar, egg and vanilla on low speed until well combined.
3. Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough 1 1/2-inches apart onto the baking sheet. If you don't have a cookie scoop, drop the dough with a spoon.
4. Flatten the dough balls the tines of a fork, making a cross pattern on the cookies.
5. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes until they are golden around the edges. Allow the cookies to rest on the counter for 2 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

Panera Mac and Cheese

Ingredients:

• 1 (16-ounce) package of rigati pasta (or other small pasta shells)
• ¼ cup butter
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 2½ cups 2% reduced fat milk (or cream)
• 6 slices white American cheese, chopped
• 1 cup (8 ounces) shredded extra-sharp white Vermont cheddar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon hot sauce

Directions:

1. Prepare pasta according to package directions.
2. Melt butter over low heat. Whisk in flour and cook 1 minute, whisking constantly.
3. Gradually whisk in milk (or cream); cook over medium heat, whisking until mixture thickens and bubbles. Remove from heat.
4. Add cheeses, mustard, salt, and hot sauce, stirring until cheese melts and sauce is smooth.
5. Stir in pasta and cook over medium heat for 1 minute (or until thoroughly heated). 

Notes:

• This is really yummy and pretty close to Panera's, which Freddie LOVES.
• Definitely serve it right away.  It doesn't reheat so well.
• It makes a lot, so consider halving the recipe unless you are cooking for a big group.

Jane's King Cake

 

I used to teach with Jane and she'd always make one of these to share in the teacher's lounge.  She's a Yankee, but gets a pass for making such a yummy King Cake.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sugar plus 2 TBSP. sugar
• 2 pkgs. yeast
• 1/3 c. warm water (105-115 degrees)
• 1 stick butter
• 2/3 c. evaporated milk (small can)
• 2 tsp. salt
• 4 eggs
• 6 c. flour
• Filling: 
  
  • ½ box light brown sugar
  • 1 c. granulated sugar
  • 2 TBSP. cinnamon
  • 1 stick butter melted

Directions:

1. Combine 2 TBSP sugar, yeast, and warm water in large mixing bowl. Let stand until foaming. (Stir slightly to blend first). 
2. Place butter, milk, sugar, and salt in small pan. On low heat setting, heat mixture to lukewarm (105-115 degrees). Butter should melt. 
3. Beat eggs into foaming yeast mixture. 
4.  Add lukewarm milk mixture. 
5. Add flour a cup at a time. After adding 4-4 ½ cups, it will be easier to add the rest of the flour and mix with your hands, either in the bowl or on a large wooden board. 
6. Knead 5-10 minutes until dough is no longer sticky. It will be soft and pliable. 
7. Lightly grease a large bowl, put ball of dough in bowl and turn to grease all around. 
8. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise until double (about 1 hour)
9. Mix sugars and cinnamon for filling
10. When dough has risen, punch down. Roll out dough on large floured surface to about 18”x 36”.
11.  Brush dough with melted butter and spread evenly with sugar mixture. 
12. Slice lengthwise in three 6” strips. Roll each like a jellyroll, sealing seams tightly. 
13. Braid and form into an oval shape. 
14. Pinch the ends together. Put on large greased baking sheet, like a jellyroll pan-sides are important! There will be seepage of sugar. 
15. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise about 1 hour.
16. Beat 1 egg with a little water. 
17. Into 3 bowls, combine ¼ c. sugar each colored purple, green, and yellow. 
18.  When dough has risen, brush top with beaten egg. Sprinkle sugars in alternate patterns.
19. Bake at 350 for 20-30 min. 
20. After cake has cooled, insert the MG baby in the bottom.

Notes::

• I didn't do steps 16, 17, and 18.  Instead I made a frosting with 3-4 cups powdered sugar and a few tablespoons milk.  I poured the frosting over the top after the cake had cooked and then sprinkled with colored sugars.  The purple is hard to achieve.  Any tips?
• If you have a stand mixer with dough hook, use that-much easier.
• Jellyroll pan is best, or you’ll have to clean up sugar mess in the oven.
• Use a covered jar to shake sugar and food coloring to mix thoroughly.

Cilantro Lime Rice

This is what I make to go with black beans, and it's especially yummy in a burrito!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup white rice
• Coarse salt
• 1/2 - 1 cup fresh cilantro (I usually use closer to a cup)
• Juice from 1 large lime
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 garlic clove

Directions:

1. Cook rice with salt.
2. While rice is cooking, blend cilantro, oil, lime, and garlic.  I pulse it with a stick blender until smooth.
3. When rice is finished cooking, stir in cilantro mixture until evenly coated.

Pepper Jelly and Cream Cheese

Not exactly the best photo, nor was it the best presentation, but this is so easy and yummy.  Charlie requested it and I have a feeling he'll be asking for it after the holidays as well.

Ingredients:

• 1 block of cream cheese
• 1 jar of pepper jelly

Directions:

• Place cream cheese on plate.
• Cover with pepper jelly.
• Serve with crackers.  We used triscuits.  

Pretzels + Rolos + M&M

This was an advent activity...easy and yummy!  We may have to make these a few times a year.

Ingredients:

• Mini pretzels, we used the waffle squares
• Rolos
• Peanut M&Ms 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
2. Place a single layer of pretzels on a cookie sheet.
3. Top each pretzel with an unwrapped rolo.
4. Place in oven for 3-4 minutes, just enough to soften the rolo.
5. Press one M&M into each softened rolo.  

Variations:

• Try a pecan half instead of an M&M!

These take a while to cool and for the rolo to harden again, but most went quickly before that even happened!

Peppermint Bark

This is yummy and very easy.  It makes a nice addition to a try of cookies during the holidays.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds white chocolate chips
• 1 cup crushed peppermints (8-12 candy canes)
• 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract (or oil)

Directions:

1. Melt chocolate.  This is easily done bu placing chocolate in the microwave.  Try 30 sencond intervals and stir in between.  Continue until smooth.
2. Meanwhile crush the candy canes.  I placed them in a ziploc and gave Freddie a large, heavy spoon to hit it them with.
3. Stir in half the crushed peppermint and the oil.
4. Pour the melted chocolate and peppermint mixture on a rimmed cookie sheet lined with foil or wax paper.  Smooth to evenly distribute.  It does not have to reach the edges or fill the pan.  You're just going to break it up anyway.
5. Sprinkle the remaining crushed candy canes on top and gently press down to make sure it is stuck int he chocolate.
6. Place in the refrigerator for an hour or until firm.  
7. Remove and break into pieces. 

Variation:

• Use half dark chocolate chips.  Follow the above instructions (1-4) with the dark chocolate, and then again for the white chocolate, adding a second layer.

Muffuletta Pasta

My friend, Ellen, has lots of yummy recipes.  I got this one from her.  Perfect for Charlie who loves SALT!  It's is yum, and I recommend it!  If you are ever in New Orleans, I also recommend you try a muffuletta sandwich one day as well.
 

 ,
Ingredients:

• 1 lb. bag of penne pasta
• ¼ lb.  Genoa salami, sliced thick and cut into strips
• ¼ lb. mortadella, sliced thick and cut into strips
• 2 C. of olive salad mix
• 1 can of black olives, sliced
• 1 C. shredded mozzarella cheese
• ½ C. grated Parmesan cheese
• ½ C. grated Romano cheese
• ¼ lb. sliced provolone cheese

 Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Boil the pasta in salted water for 12 – 15 minutes
3. Strain the pasta and rinse with cold water
4. In a large bowl, combine the pasta and all the other ingredients, except the sliced provolone cheese
5. Pour into baking dish and place the sliced provolone on top
6. Bake for 30 minutes

 Tips and Tricks:

• Ellen says to ask the person at the deli counter to slice the salami and the mortadella on #2.  
• For those of you in NOLA, she uses the Rouses brand olive salad mix and says Boscoli is also a good brand to use as well, but I used what I could find at Costco.  

Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti squash is one of those things that I'd have never thought to fix.  It's something you see in Martha Stewart or Real Simple Magazine and just think...huh, that's interesting.  But I have actually cooked it and like it!  We've had it a few times recently and it is so easy.  It's also healthy.  Definitely don't think this is going to replace pasta or cure your carb craving, but it helped me feel less guilty about eating a big dessert after dinner.  

Most are about this size:

And that seems to be just the right size for our family.  Half a squash yields:

To cook it, as directed by my sister, I pierced it with a knife a few times, set it on a plate, and microwaved it for 15 minutes.  Afterwards, slice it open and discard the inner seeds.

Remove the very inside, the seeds

The "spaghetti" is the pulp-ish part between the seeds and the skin.  I simply scraped it out with a fork onto the plate.

I've only had it with tomato sauce (red gravy for you Southern Italians), specifically chicken Parmesan, but think I'll try a few other recipes.  There must be some on Pinterest. 

**Sorry about the terrible phone pictures.  I've been lazy about using a real camera since the demise of my point and shoot.