Thanksgiving Candied Sweet Potatoes

One of my favorites. A good way to get kids to eat a LOT of sweet potatoes...unless they're smart and eat only the marshmallows on top. :)

4 x-large sweet potatoes
**peeled, chopped, boiled until soft, and placed in a greased 9x13 glass baking dish,



then make the sauce:

1 c butter
1/2 c brown sugar
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
4-6oz orange juice
**Place all together in a sauce pan over med-lo heat until all melted together. Pour over sweet potatoes. Place 1 bag marshmallows (or two if you're in Finland) on top (big or small, it doesn't matter).



Bake at 350F/180C until marshmallows are browned--about 10 minutes. Mmmmm....

Thanksgiving Turkey

Another of my favorite dishes... Turkey! This year, we were lucky enough to actually have found one here at a local supermarket! Wow! So, we had a wild Finnish turkey! Very Thanksgiving-y! :) It was SO good, though! And so easy to make!

1 Turkey
Olive Oil
Seasoned Salt (I make my own! Better than Lawry's! Click here for the recipe)
Herbs: I use parsley, basil, rosemary, oregano, and thyme. I like to use fresh. Probably about 1-2 Tbsp of each!
3-4 c Water

Place defrosted and washed turkey in roasting pan. (To clean, run under cool water. Rub the thing clean! Flush the inside out with water as well until it runs clear.) Pour in water. (With the water, I'm only guessing on the amount. This depends on if you're planning to make gravy with it after it's been cooked! And how much gravy you want! :) I am a gravy FIEND, so I usually use a lot of water! :) As a rule of thumb, I usually fill my roasting pan until it's about an inch or so deep with water on the bottom. More or less.) Pour olive oil on the turkey. I also pour a bit into the water! Add salt as desired on top (and to the water!) and rub it in. Sprinkle the herbs ALL over. If the lid can go on your roasting pan with the turkey inside, place the lid on top. If it doesn't fit, make a tent out of kitchen (aluminum) foil. Bake at about 300F/150C until done. It should be golden brown, and the juices will run clear with no pink in the meat. Usually around 3-4 hours, depending on the size of your turkey. However, if you happen to overcook it a bit, the gravy will mask it pretty well! :)

Gravy:

Turkey drippings
Flour
1/2 c Water

Pour all the turkey drippings into a sauce pan and place on medium heat on the stove. Take out about 1/2 cup from the turkey drippings, add another 1/2 c cool water, then add flour (1 Tbsp at a time) until you can make a thick yet runny paste. Add this concoction to the remaining drippings in the sauce pan using a wire whisk. Cook until thick and bubbly! (If it's not thick enough for you, repeat the above steps until at desired thickness! If it's too thick, just add water.)

Mmmmmmmm....

Thanksgiving Stuffing

I LOVE stuffing. LOVE it. Thanksgiving is NOTHING without stuffing. I used to use the old StoveTop standby, but then I began making it myself, and let me tell you-it's SOOOOOOOOOO much better!!!!!! So, here's a basic idea of what I do to make this traditional Thanksgiving side dish:

Lots of bread broken into small pieces (I use many different kinds--white, whole wheat, oat, rye--and mix them all together)
1/4 c Fresh Parsley (about 3 bunches)
2 tsp Thyme (dry--OR 1 Tbsp fresh)
3-4 stalks Celery (including leaves!), finely chopped
1 small Onion, finely chopped
3 c Chicken broth (3c water+3tsp chicken bouillon)
1/2 c Butter (as needed....probably quite a bit unless you like it lighter...but I like it buttery!!)

Break bread into small pieces and save in a super large mixing bowl.


(The kids love to help with this part!)

In a sauce pan, saute celery and onions in butter until slightly transparent. Add everything else (except bread). Bring to a boil. Add more butter! Ha! Pour over bread a little at a time until all the bread is moist. Not TOO soggy, but not TOO dry. :) Taste it to make sure it's good! (Yes, that sounds weird, but it really should taste good!!)



Pour into 9x13 baking dish (um, coated with butter...) and bake at 375F for about 15 minutes. Stir, then bake again until the top is slightly crisp and the bottom is slightly browned--about 15-20 min (unless you have the option of a fan assisted oven...then it's only 10 more minutes). Serve! Top with lots of homemade gravy and you have a gourmet dish!




I've also in the past added sausage. It is SO good! I don't do it anymore because I don't have any sausage available to me. If you want to use sausage, cook it with the celery and onions. :)

Chocolate Almond Zuchinni Brownies

These turned out to be the YUMMIEST brownies I've ever made. I suppose that really isn't saying much, though, because I don't often make brownies. But, they were GOOD! Interestingly, as I was researching Zucchini Brownies on the web, trying to find recipes/hints/ideas, I came across something very interesting! Did you know, that you should NOT add eggs to zucchini brownies? Eggs make them more cake-like. Instead, you leave out the egg. There really is very little liquid in the recipe--only 1/2 c of oil and a little flavoring of some sort (vanilla--or I like to use almond)--in addition to the zucchini itself. So it looks like a nasty mass. But the natural moisture of the zucchini is what moistens the batter as it cooks, and makes the most wonderful moist brownie texture you can imagine! AND, since I use whole wheat, added with the zucchini, I felt pretty good about letting even my kids chow down! :P

1 1/2 c Sugar (I actually used just a little less...)
1/2 c cocoa
1 tsp salt
1 c whole wheat flour
1 c white flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 c oil
3 med zucchini, shredded (ends up being a little over 2 cups or so)

Sift all dry ingredients. Add extracts and oil. It will be SUPER dry. Add zucchini and fold in. This will be very thick and pretty dry. Don't worry, though!!! It's supposed to be!!! Pour into a 9x13 greased pan. Bake for about 20 minutes at 350F/180C. Let cool a bit...Frost!

**Frosting:

6 Tbsp Cocoa
1/4 c Butter
2 c Powdered Sugar
1/4 c (+/-) water (or milk)
1/2 tsp almond extract

Melt butter with the cocoa in the microwave! Put sugar in a bowl, add water and extract and mix. Add the butter/cocoa mixture. Mix using a hand mixer. This is AMAZING chocolate almond frosting!!! :) You can even sprinkle slivered almonds on top. Heavenly!!

These brownies are chewy and gooey and absolutely delicious!

"Creamy" Asparagus Soup

This sounds absolutely disgusting. I admit it. I found this recipe in a recipe book, and thought it looked interesting, as these are all things that I like...I just wouldn't really put them all together, and especially not in this way! However, I have made a goal to make something really weird and 'out of my comfort zone' every week, and since I had the ingredients, I decided to go ahead and try it! :) It turned out FANTASTIC! Even the kids liked it and ate it! I, of course, added a few things, and didn't add some things that I knew the kids wouldn't like...and voila! Here's the recipe that I ended up with!

500 gr (1 lb) asparagus
5 c water
5 tsp chicken bouillon
1 tsp season salt
1 small onion, finely minced
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp parsley and chives, finely chopped
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 1/2 c fresh Spinach, rinsed (can remove stems)
1/2 c minced fresh dill
Small pinch crushed red pepper
A few dashes ground Nutmeg

Trim the tips of the asparagus, and set them aside. Cut all the stalks into 1 inch pieces and place in large pot along with water, bouillon, salt, onion, bay leaf, parsley/chives, and olive oil. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 1/2 hour. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer--uncovered!--for about 5 more minutes. Remove the pot from heat and let cool. Process in a food processor (I added all the 'chunky' parts to the food processor, then enough liquid to really get it liquefied) until smooth. Return to the pot and add the asparagus tips. Let simmer for about 5 minutes or so--until the tips are tender. To serve, pour the soup into the bowls, then just before eating, drop in a small dollop of butter! It's great without it, but add that little butter to it, and this is a most fantastic soup!!! Serve with roast chicken and garlic bread. Oh man. It's good.

Dairy Free Chicken Enchiladas

I do love enchiladas...and I do love them smothered in cheese and sour cream! However, it just doesn't agree with my kids, so I invented a dairy free version. These are still incredibly tasty! Try them out and see if you really miss all the dairy...

1 small chicken, cooked (take all the meat off, discard bones, place meat in a large bowl)
6 or 7 tomatoes
2 bunches fresh parsley
1 clove garlic
1 small hot green pepper, finely chopped (wear gloves!! I often skip this part, as my kids don't like the 'bite', and it still tastes just fine)
1 onion, finely chopped
3 c cooked black beans
1 c Mexican Gravy (**see below for recipe)
8-10 flour tortillas

Place tomatoes, parsley and garlic in blender, blend until smooth. You can dice a few of the tomatoes and add them like that, as the diced tomatoes do give a nice flavor and texture! Add to chicken in the bowl. Add chopped hot pepper, onion, black beans and Mexican Gravy. Toss to mix.

Preheat oven to 350. Pour about 2 c of the Mexican Gravy in the bottom of a 9x13 rectangular pan (either glass or aluminum, doesn’t matter). Hold a tortilla in one hand and place about ¾ cup of the chicken mixture in the tortilla, then roll it up place in pan. Do this with all the tortillas, filling them with chicken mixture, rolling them up, then placing in pan until all the tortillas AND the chicken mixture is gone. Pour the Mexican Gravy over the top to cover the tortillas. Sprinkle with cheese if desired. Bake for about 30 minutes—the sauce will be bubbling and it will smell delicious!! Serve with rice and salad!!

**Mexican Gravy!!

60 g butter
1/3 c flour
3 Tbsp Chili Powder
¼ tsp Garlic Powder
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp dried oregano
¼ tsp cumin
About 4 c water
1 Tbsp chicken bouillon
1 small (8 oz) can tomato sauce (OR one can diced tomatoes OR 5-6 fresh tomatoes finely chopped)

Mix flour, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, oregano, and cumin in a small bowl. Melt butter in sauce pan. When butter is melted, add bowl of dry ingredients. Stir constantly until it is all mixed. SLOWLY add water and chicken bouillon. Stir constantly to get rid of any lumps and mix completely. Add tomato sauce. Sauce should be fairly thick. It’s ready to use in the recipe!

Shepherd's Pie Variation

Tonight was a 'food storage experiment' night for me. For those of you who are familiar with Shepherd's Pie (the hamburger-green bean-tomato sauce-mashed potatoes-cheese dish that's pretty popular in Utah), I always had a variation...I used cream of mushroom soup instead of tomato-whatever. Since we don't really do the cream of-- soups anymore, I was trying to think of another variation. This is what I came up with, and it was a BIG hit!

1+ lb hamburger
1+lb frozen veggies mix of some sort (I used a carrots, cauliflower, peas and green beans mix that we had in the freezer)
1 Box Mori-Nu Tofu
2 Tbsp Canola Oil
1 Tbsp vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1 4oz can mushrooms
1 Tbsp beef bouillon
3 cups mashed potato flakes
2 Tbs butter
salt and pepper to taste

Cook hamburger in skillet. Pour frozen veggies into 9x13 glass baking dish. Add hamburger. In blender, blend tofu, oil, vinegar, salt, and sugar until creamy. Add mushrooms WITH liquid and beef bouillon. Blend until the mushrooms are the size you want--chunky or smooth. (Most of my family like mushrooms, but Claire does NOT...she didn't even know that she ate a TON of mushrooms tonight! Ha!) Pour the liquid over the hamburger/vegetable mix. Heat water for potatoes in a sauce pan. When it is boiling, remove from heat and add mashed potato flakes. Mix until smooth, then add butter, salt and pepper. Pour over the top of the other mix, like a crust. Bake at 375F until bubbly (about 30 minutes?). (The ingredients sound seriously gross, but it turned out SO good that Josh and Claire even had THIRDS and even Andrew and Peter ate everything on their plates!)

Lemon Blueberry Poppy Seed Muffins

I love experimenting! Woohoo! It's berry season here in Helsinki, and that means fresh blueberries, cherries, strawberries, raspberries, everywhere you look! So, we made muffins with our fresh berries this morning! :)

3/4 c liquid (milk, soymilk, water)
1/4 c oil
1 large egg
1 c whole wheat flour
1 c white flour
1/2 c sugar
1 Tbsp freshly grated lemon peel
1 Tbsp lemon juice (squeezed from the lemon by a little person...that makes it taste better...)
1 1/2 Tbsp poppy seeds
1 Tbsp flax meal (this is, as always, optional)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 c fresh (or frozen or canned) blueberries

*Make your Streusel topping if you want (see below), and set aside.

*Beat egg, liquid and oil. Add all the remaining ingredients (except blueberries) all at once and whisk by hand with either a wire whisk or a wooden spoon about 10 times! (The batter will be lumpy--if you overmix it, it becomes hard and rubbery instead of light and fluffy!) Fold in your berries. Top with the Streusel Topping, if you wish. Bake at 400F/204C for 20-25 minutes! Yum!

Streusel Topping

1/4 c whole wheat flour
1/4 c packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp butter (firm: not melted, not super soft, but not rock hard...)
Mix together with a hand mixer, then sprinkle over muffins before baking.

Fresh wild blueberry picking! :)

Challah Bread

Another beautiful masterpiece of bread yumminess! And it's just so PRETTY!! :)


2 Eggs PLUS enough warm Water to equal 1 1/2 cups
1/4 c Canola Oil
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp Salt
2 1/2 c Whole Wheat Flour
2 c White flour
1-2 Tbsp flax meal
2 tsp yeast

Place all ingredients in your bread maker OR

Mix gently for 5 minutes until all the dough is in a ball. Let rest, covered, for 15 minutes. Mix for another 10 minutes--either by hand or using dough beaters on a mixer on low. Then, cover and let rise for 30-45 minutes, or until double in bulk.

After all of that (or when your bread machine finishes) pour the dough out on a lightly floured surface and divide into three pieces. Make them into about 13"+ long 'ropes' with tapered ends. Pinch all three together at one end, and braid them together on a greased and lightly floured cookie sheet. Pinch them together at the other end. Fold both ends under just a bit to make it look pretty:
Cover and let rise in a nice warm place for about 1 hour. Using a pastry brush, glaze the bread with:

2 Egg yolks, beaten
1 Tbsp Water

Then sprinkle with Poppy Seeds.

Bake at 350F/180C for about 25 minutes. I thought it was almost too pretty to eat, but the kids LOVED pulling it apart, and it was gone in a few minutes! :)

Ciabatta

I've been on an artisan bread kick lately. This was my kick-off. It takes a really long time to make, but it's not time consuming (if that makes any sense). The kids LOVED it and have begged me to make it again! :)

**The Biga Starter:

1 1/2 tsp yeast
1 cup lukewarm water
3 cups unbleached flour

Mix the yeast with a little of the water. Sift flour into a bowl and slowly add the yeast mixture. Begin to mix by hand, and gradually add more of the water until you have a nice, firm dough. Knead on a floured surface for 5 minutes, until smooth. Return dough to the bowl and cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap. Let sit in a nice warm place for 12-15 hours.

**The Dough:

3 tsp yeast
1 2/3 c lukewarm water
1/4 lukewarm soymilk
5 c unbleached flour (half and half works well, too)
2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp Olive Oil

Mix yeast with a little of the water to make it creamy, then add the rest of the water. Add this yeast mixture to the Biga Starter, and mix well (again, by hand!). Mix in the milk, beating thoroughly, this time with a wooden spoon (hey, I was going for authentic here). Mix in the flour by hand for 15 minutes, lifting the dough, to make a very wet mixture. Add in the salt and olive oil. Cover with slightly oiled plastic wrapt and let rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Transfer the dough to two or three floured cookie sheet. Use a spoon to do this, and try not to punch it down! Shape carefully into long loaves, about an inch or so thick. Sprinkle with flour, and let rise for another 30 minutes. Then, bake at 425F for about 25-30 minutes until golden brown. This stuff is so worth the effort!!

Italian Breadsticks

Another of my mother's famous recipes. I just can't have spaghetti without these! Absolutely the most fantastic breadsticks ever!

3 c warm water
1 Tbsp yeast
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp oil
1 Tbsp salt
2 Tbsp flax meal
4 c whole wheat flour
2-3 c unbleached white flour

1 cube butter
2 cloves garlic, pressed
2 Tbsp parsley
Parmesan Cheese

Combine first five ingredients in a bread mixer. Add flour and flax until dough leaves the sides of the bowl. Knead by mixer for 5 more minutes. Let rise until double. Punch down, roll out to about 1/2 inch thick. Cut into about 1" strips (I use a pizza cutter. Makes for fast and accurate work!).



Melt butter in a 9x13 pan in the oven. Add garlic and parsley. Dip strips of dough into the melted butter/garlic/parsley mixture and twist strips. Lay down in pan and repeat with remaining strips. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top. Bake at 400F/204C for about 25 minutes, until breadsticks are browned on top. Makes 1/2 to 2 pans of breadsticks!

(**I also use this recipe for Hungarian scones and pizza dough! For the scones, make exactly like the breadsticks, except you cut the strips shorter and thicker--2"x4" perhaps. Then, you deep fry it! Serve hot with butter, jam and/or honey, or roll in cinnamon and sugar! Fantastic stuff!)

Italian skillet chicken

This was one of those spur of the moment meals where I needed something fast and came up with this!

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, pressed
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
8-10 small white button mushrooms
Seasoned Salt or Garlic salt to taste
8-10 fresh tomatoes, finely chopped
Fresh oregano, basil, thyme, parsley, rosemary (you can use dried as well)

Saute onions in olive oil until transparent. Add garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes more. Add chicken and watch constantly until it is browned on all sides. Add mushrooms and salt. Stir until mushrooms are wilted. Add tomatoes and herbs and simmer on low heat until the tomatoes are to your taste. Sometimes I just let it simmer for a few minutes to get the fresh taste. Sometimes, I let it simmer for a while to get more of a 'sauce'. Serve with pasta (spaghetti or angel hair is yummy!) or rice, a side salad, and some fresh french bread!

(*If you want a quicker version, use one can mushrooms--6-8 ounces, and one can tomatoes.)

Quick Steak Marinade

This is a great marinade for a steak bbq or if you're planning to make beef jerky! Yummy either way.

Steak cutlets
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp mustard
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp black pepper
2-3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2-3 Tbsp water

Mix everything together. I usually put it all into a Ziplock bag. It makes it easier to coat it all. Marinade for 3-4 hours or overnight. Then, do with it what you will! Great bbq night, or beef jerky if that's what you're after. SOOO tasty!

Teriyaki Chicken

This was originally my mom's recipe, and she uses it on turkey breast cutlets. I've tweaked it a bit and use chicken, but it's essentially my mom's recipe. And the BEST way to cook it is on the grill. You could probably do it by other means, but I refuse. It just tastes SO much better with that 'smokey' taste to it along with all the pineapple, garlic and soy goodness! :)

4-5 large chicken breasts (or 8-10 smaller pieces)

**Marinade:
1 c pineapple juice
½ c Soy Sauce
1/3 c Brown Sugar, packed
2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
3-4 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 Tbsp Ground Ginger (or 1 tsp minced fresh ginger)
1 Tbsp Olive Oil

Combine marinade ingredients in a ziplock bag OR a large bowl with a lid. Poke chicken with a fork a few times on both sides then put in the marinade. Let sit in marinade for at least 6 hours (in the fridge). Turn it over or mix it once in awhile to make sure all the chicken is coated evenly.

After the chicken has marinated for long enough, grill on the barbeque until it is no longer pink in the middle. (You can also do this in the oven: Put chicken in a 9x13 glass baking dish OR a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 425 degrees in the oven for about 45-60 minutes, until it is no longer pink in the middle of the thickest part of the chicken.) Serve with Fried Rice and Fresh Pineapple! :)

Strawberry 'Marvel' Cake

This is something Claire begs for pretty much every week. It's technically a marble cake with strawberries sort of like a strawberry shortcake idea. Claire started calling it strawberry marvel cake, and it stuck. We usually use frozen strawberries, as we can get them cheap. However, I once made this with fresh berries, and the kids are now spoiled.

2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 c softened butter
1 1/4 c soy milk
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp almond extract
3 large eggs
1 Tbsp flax meal

Beat everything together with a hand mixer on high for about 3 minutes. Scoop out the 1 3/4 c batter for the chocolate part, then pour the rest into a greased 9x13 pan. Make the chocolate 'marvel' part:

1 3/4 c of the above batter
3 Tbsp baking cocoa
2 tsp baking powder

Mix together. Drop by spoonfuls onto the batter already waiting in the cake pan. (In this picture, I had added crushed chocolate chips to the batter. I thought it was pretty tasty, but funnily enough, the kids didn't like it!!!)



Using a butter knife, slice through to make pretty marble designs.



Bake at 350F/180C for 40-45 minutes. If you're using frozen strawberries, just pour the amount you want into a mixing bowl, add some sugar, and let it thaw. Stir it to make sure the sugar isn't all in one place! :) If using fresh, cut up your berries, add a little water and sugar (just for the syrup).

This is what happens when it's all gone...

Wheat Thins

These are SOOO fantastic! They're super easy to make and are a fabulous snack without any added preservatives! Hooray! I make this recipe (makes around 200+ crackers), and it doesn't last more than one day! :) My kids love them!

1 3/4 c Whole Wheat Flour
1 1/2 c unbleached Flour
3/4 tsp Salt
1 c Water
1/3 c Canola Oil

Sift dry ingredients together. Add liquids, and mix by hand just until you have a fairly smooth dough. Try not to mix too much! Break into two pieces. Place one on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Roll as thin as humanly possible! :) Using a pizza cutter, slice through to make desired cracker size. (I cut all the way through, as it seems to cook better that way, and you don't have to break them all apart afterward.) Prick each cracker with a fork. Sprinkle with salt. Bake at 350F/180C for about 30-35 minutes until light brown and crisp!

**For variation:

Add flax or other small seeds! Sprinkle with Garlic salt! Add onion or garlic powder to the dough! Or make it a treat, and use cinnamon and sugar! There are all kinds of things you could do with this! :)

Balsamic Vinaigrette

I'm SUPER picky when it comes to salad dressings. I DETEST dressings that are sweet. Can't stand it if there is any sugar in it at all. If I wanted a sweet salad, I'd eat a fruit salad. If I want a green salad, it needs to have a savory dressing. Really, one of the only dressings that I like is Ranch. However, I haven't had it for forever, because it's a US thing. So, I've had to get creative. I found this combination works well for me, so I thought I'd share.

1/2 c Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 c Balsamic Vinegar
The juice from one Lemon
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tsp salt
dash white pepper

I put all of this into a glass bottle with a lid. Shake it before you pour it on! :) Keeps well in the fridge for a few weeks. SOOOOO good on fresh tomatoes and cucumbers!!

Grandma's Chicken Noodle Soup

I love Chicken Noodle Soup. It's my favorite comfort food. This recipe is SOOOOO yummy!!! Once you've done it, you'll never be able to go back to the canned stuff again! :)

Water (and lots of it!)
Chicken with bones (I actually use the thigh/leg combo. The bones are the key to a fantastic flavor for your broth! You can use chicken breast on the bone, but white meat tends to get a little tougher with more cooking, while dark meat gets more tender!)
1 Bay Leaf
Seasoned Salt/a bit of chicken bouillon (to taste...I like to boil the chicken with salt as it tends to bring out more of the flavor. If you're trying to watch your salt intake, don't add salt at this point!)

*Boil for a few hours! I like to boil it until the meat basically falls right off the bones!

Remove chicken and set aside to cool and debone. Add to broth:

A few carrots, peeled and chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
2-3 celery stalks (with leaves!) finely chopped
A few sprigs of fresh parsley (or 2-3 tsps dried)

While this is boiling, make your noodles!!! I like to make a LOT, so here's my recipe:

2 cups flour (I usually do 1 c white and 1 c wheat)
2 large eggs
1 'eggshell' worth of cold water

Knead together until it is a firm dough. If you have a pasta maker, you can make this into any size noodles you want. I usually do the spaghetti setting. If you don't have a pasta maker, you just roll it really flat with a rolling pin, then cut it to what size you want with either a VERY sharp knife, or a pizza cutter (much faster). Add to boiling water a little at a time to keep it from clumping together. Debone the chicken and add the meat to the soup. Add a little more salt if needed, and some black pepper.

Voila! It sounds like a LOT of work, but it's really not terrible and SOOOOOOOO worth it! :)

Fresh Pasta Sauce

I can NEVER go back to the bottled/canned pasta sauce. After starting to use this, I'm hooked and just can't look back!

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 lb hamburger
Garlic Salt (to taste)
8-10 fresh, ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped
A handful each of Fresh basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, rosemary, finely chopped (you CAN use dried, but fresh just tastes so much better!!!)
Fresh mushrooms, finely sliced (if all you have is canned or dehydrated, that works, too. Or, you can omit the mushrooms. Claire would be happy if I did.)
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat Olive Oil in large sauce pan. Add onion, and saute for a few minutes. Add garlic and stir. Throw in the hamburger and garlic salt and 'scramble' until browned. Add the mushrooms. Simmer for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. Throw in the tomatoes and herbs and simmer for about 20 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. This sauce is pretty thin, and if you don't like that, use a slotted spoon to serve. You can put the tomatoes and herbs in the blender before adding to the hamburger if you don't like 'chunky' sauce. It is just SO good and flavorful! I've also done this using mini shrimp instead of hamburger and it's yummy, too! This is good over pasta of any kind.

Dairy Free Beef Stroganoff

This sounds gross, but it is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good, that if you didn't know it was dairy free, you wouldn't guess it!

Hamburger OR steak cut into strips
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
garlic salt, to taste
1 cup finely sliced small white mushrooms (you can really use any mushrooms you want!)
1 cup beef broth
1 + cup tofu sour cream
a handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped

With hamburger:

Saute onion in olive oil just until transparent (a few minutes) then add garlic. Add hamburger and garlic salt. Brown hamburger. Add mushrooms. Stir until mushrooms are 'wilted'. Add beef broth and simmer until mixture is boiling. Add parsley, then add sour cream and serve! Serve over rice or noodles.

With beef:

First, saute mushrooms in butter and garlic salt. Oh so yummy!! While the mushrooms are cooking, Slice the beef into strips. Coat with flour. (I prepare a bowl with about 1/2 cup flour and about 1/2 tsp seasoned salt.) When the mushrooms are browned. Remove mushrooms, place in a bowl, and set aside. In the same pan, pour in a little olive oil and the onions. Saute for a few minutes. Add the garlic and stir constantly. Add the coated beef and stir until there is no liquid left (a few seconds). Begin adding the beef broth a little at a time. Once all the liquid is added, let simmer until the beef is cooked through. (If you simmer lightly for a longer period of time, the beef is more tender than if you cook on high!!!) Add the mushrooms and parsley and simmer a little longer together. Pour in the sour cream, turn off the heat, and stir until it's warmed through. Serve immediately over rice or noodles!

The BEST Banana Bread!!

I discovered this recipe in Cameroon, where we had banana trees in our backyard...and even with the overabundance and cheapness of bananas, I never got tired of this stuff!! Even Josh will eat it, and he hates bananas!!

3-4 Ripe Bananas, smashed with a wooden spoon
1/3 c. + (75 g) melted butter (yes, I sometimes add more than 1/3 cup... and remember, it MUST be butter!!!!!)
3/4 c Sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp Baking Soda
Pinch of Salt (1/4 tsp, maybe??)
1 ½ c Wheat Flour
1 Tbsp Bean Flour
1 Tbsp Flaxmeal
1/2 c chocolate chips (optional)

With wooden spoon (yes, use a wooden spoon! It just tastes better that way!), mix butter into mashed bananas in a large white mixing bowl. Mix in sugar, egg and vanilla. Sprinkle baking soda and salt over the mixture, then mix in. Add the Flour and chocolate chips last–mix just until it is all moist (about 25 stirs!). Pour mixture into a coated bread pan. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on the top...it's SO yummy that way! Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Cool in the pan on the cooling rack for about 10 minutes to let set. Turn over to remove from pan. Let it cool completely, or eat it warm! :)

Ham and Bean Garden Soup

This started out as a bisque, but I changed my mind halfway through. It smelled so good near the end that I thought I was going to die if I didn't eat it soon! :) Josh even said it was his new most favorite soup ever! That's always nice to hear...along with Claire eating 2 whole bowls, AND Andrew even ate his whole bowl, which is really saying something!!

8 Cups Water 3/4 c dry Great Northern Beans
1 clove garlic, whole
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Salt

**Place these ingredients into large sauce pan and simmer on medium for about an hour, then add:
1 Potato, finely cubed
1 tsp Fresh Oregano
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced (include some leaves!! These add great flavor to soups, and look so pretty!)
1/2 large onion (or 1 small one)

**Simmer another 30 minutes or so, then add:
3 Tbsp Butter
2 large Carrots, match-sticked (ok, jullienned)
1 clove garlic, pressed
2 more tsp fresh Oregano
a few dashes White Pepper
1 Tbsp Chicken Bouillon (or more, to taste)
1 small zucchini, halved and chopped (smileys, as my kids call them)

**Simmer about 30 more minutes, then add:
1 + c cooked, cubed Ham

**Serve immediately, and garnish with:
2 ripe tomatoes, cubed (Let everyone sprinkle their soup with some. My kids also always request frozen peas and/or corn for every soup. I didn't put it in my soup, but everyone else did and seemed to like that.)

Eat with crackers or fresh crusty Italian garlic bread!

Lemon Herb Shishkabobs

We love these things! The kids love to help make them and they LOVE to eat them as it's so much fun to eat things off a stick! :)

4 boneless, skinless Chicken Breasts, cubed (NOT cooked!)
6 giant white mushrooms, cut in thirds (or small button mushrooms, halved)
1 onion, cut in half then quartered
1 large zucchini, slice in 'circles', then either cut each circle in half, or quarter it
1 bell pepper, chopped (it's fun to use red or yellow or orange for some color)

OR

if you don't have zucchini or peppers (or don't like them), I've used carrots, cauliflower and broccoli! Tastes just as good. I think the kids like this way more anyway.

**Place all the veggies into a gallon size ziplock bag. The, add the marinade:

1 Tbsp seasoned salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 large cloves garlic, pressed
2 Tbsp each fresh basil, oregano, and parsley (can also add rosemary and thyme!)
the juice of one whole Lemon
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/4 cup water
1-2 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar

Let sit in marinade at room temp for about an hour, then refrigerate and marinade for 6-8 hours.

Thread everything onto skewers. Place on cookie sheet



and Broil until done! (In our oven, it took about 6 minutes; 3 minutes, then turn, then 3 minutes longer.) I serve this with:



fried rice and salad.

Apple Cinnamon Rolls

This was, as always is the case for me, a spur of the moment experiment. I had a really soft apple sitting in the fridge, and no one was eating it because it was bruised. I really wanted some cinnamon rolls. I thought to myself, "Self, what if I cut up that little apple into little tiny pieces and put it in the middle of my cinnamon rolls? Thus, the Apple Cinnamon rolls were born. I also changed my glaze, and OH is it ever GOOOOOOOD!!! Just, um, don't eat all the frosting before you put it on the rolls.

Also, just to note, this is mostly the same as the cinnamon roll recipe. It's in a different format than usual because I typed this one up for Josh's class's recipe book.

Enjoy!

Ingredients for rolls (For Steps 1 and 2):

1 Egg PLUS enough warm water to equal 1 ½ c
1/3 c Oil
½ c Sugar
1 ½ tsp Salt
2 ½ c Wheat Flour
2 c White Pastry Flour
2 tsp Yeast
2/3 c Raisins

(*If you have a bread machine, this is an excellent bread machine recipe! Just add the ingredients in the order listed to your machine, then select the ‘dough’ option. After the machine has finished, proceed to step # 3.)

Other ingredients needed:

*For middle of rolls (step 3):

About 50 grams butter, softened (NOT margarine!)
Dark brown sugar
Cinnamon
1 soft, sweet apple, peeled and finely chopped

*For glaze (step 4):

About 50 grams melted Butter (again, NOT margarine!)
1+ cup powdered sugar
½ tsp almond extract
1 tsp water

Instructions:

Step 1:
Mix gently for 5 minutes until all the dough is in a ball. Let rest, covered, for 15 minutes.



Step 2:
Add 2/3 c Raisins, then mix for another 10 minutes--either by hand or using dough beaters on a mixer on low.
Cover and let rise for 30-45 minutes, or until double in size.

Step 3:
Take dough out and roll out into a rectangle shape on a floured surface. Spread soft butter all over the top. Sprinkle with brown sugar, then with cinnamon, to taste. Sprinkle the chopped apple over the top of the butter, cinnamon and sugar.





With a pizza cutter, cut the dough in half (up and down). Roll up one side jelly-roll style,



then use the pizza cutter to cut little rolls, about 1 inch thick. Put rolls on a greased cookie sheet. When all the rolls are on the tray, put a towel over them and let rise for about an hour. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes at 350F/180C.


(here they are in the oven. I love this picture. You can almost smell them....)

Step 4:
While the rolls are cooking, make glaze. Mix together the melted butter, powdered sugar and almond extract with a fork until smooth. If it appears lumpy, add the tsp of water. Spread over the rolls as soon as they come out of the oven.
(**I suggest making the glaze/frosting at the moment you plan to frost these. If it sits too long, the consistency changes.)

Enjoy these warm or cold, after dinner or for breakfast!

Lentil Soup

My kids love Lentil soup, so I am always experimenting with different ways of serving it. Here I will post my basic Lentil soup recipe that is always a hit at our house! (Yes, my children are weird. I wonder where they get it from???)



2 c dry lentils
About 8-10 cups water
1 bay leaf
1/2 onion (whole or chopped)
1-2 cloves garlic (whole or pressed)
2 Tbsp chicken bouillon
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp fresh thyme
4 fresh basil leaves
1/2 c celery (leaves included!!) chopped
3 large carrots, 'circled' (as my kids say)
2 small tomatoes, finely chopped

Place all together in a large sauce pan. Simmer on med-lo heat for about 45min-1hour. Serve! Eat with crackers or fresh hot wheat bread! And perhaps a salad with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing. You can also shred some real Parmesan on top. It adds a nice touch.

**Sometimes I add a chicken thigh to this and simmer it with the lentils. Depends on whether I feel like a vegetarian night or not. I've also added mushrooms. The kids don't appreciate them as much, but I thought they tasted wonderful! :) (Just don't use canned. Has to be fresh!)

Calzones

I tried out a new experiment, and these turned out so super yummy, I think I'll make them again some day!

For the pizza dough, I used a bread machine! (I'm sure you could do this by hand, or in a regular machine, but my bread machine is my right hand man lately.)

1 1/2 c Warm water
4-5 Tbsp Soy milk (or regular milk)
2 Tbsp Oil
2 Tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Salt
2 c Whole Wheat Flour
2 1/2 c White flour
1 Tbsp Flaxmeal
1 Tbsp Bean Flour
2 tsp yeast

Throw it in the bread machine and use the dough setting. Hooray!

Once it's done, pull it out in six smallish portions. Shape each one in a ball, and roll out into a very flat circle. Plop in about 2 Tbsp of the Gourmet Pizza Sauce, some sliced cheese (you don't even need to shred it!), pepperoni, olives...or whatever you would prefer inside of a calzone!!




Wet the outside rim of the circle (I dipped my fingers in the olive juice and used that), then fold in half, pinching the edges together with your fingers.



Place each one on a greased (and layered with cornmeal) baking sheet. Poke a few holes in the top with a knife to keep it from exploding! :)

Place in a 425F/215C degree oven for 20 minutes.



These were SOOOOOO yummy! Devin still drools thinking about these! :) And they really took almost no time at all.

Gourmet Pizza Sauce

I wanted to make calzones, and decided to make a 'real' pizza sauce instead of my usual 'just throw it all together' sauce. I found a recipe on allrecipes.com that I thought looked interesting, but I didn't have all the ingredients it listed. So, as always, I improvised, and found that this is THE MOST FANTASTIC pizza sauce I've ever tasted! Woohoo!!

3+ Tbsp freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
4 sprigs (about 2 tsp) fresh Basil, finely chopped (I admit, I use my kitchen shears!)
1 tsp dried Oregano 3 cloves Garlic, pressed
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp chicken bouillon
1 tsp onion powder
dash Crushed Red Pepper
1/4 tsp dark brown sugar
8 oz can Tomato Sauce (not paste!!)
4 Tbsp boiling hot Water

Combine all the ingredients except for Tomato Sauce and water. Mix well.



Add tomato sauce all at once. Add hot water one tablespoon at a time. You may like your sauce thinner (add more water or tomato sauce) or thinner (omit water). Let sit for at least 1/2 hour on the counter to mix the flavor!



Use on top of pizzas, inside Calzones, or as a breadstick dipping sauce!! OR you could make a yummy chicken cacciatore with something like this as well! Or it could be a yummy marinara sauce for pasta or shrimp! The uses are endless!

**Note: While the crushed red pepper gives it a super yummy zing, my kids thoroughly disliked it! So, I'll try it without the pepper next time and see if they like it better, or if they were just trying to find an excuse to finish early and go play!

Shrimpy Noodles

My kids love Ramen. I used to. Now I think it's a touch on the nasty side. However, one day, they were begging and begging for Ramen noodles. So, I gave in; with one condition! I could add some stuff to it. So, thus the Shrimpy Noodles (aka Master Chifou Noodles) were born. (This is, as always, given in the measurements my family would consume.)



5 packages beef Ramen
3 carrots, peeled and jullienned
1/2 cup frozen peas OR corn
1 cup frozen tiny shrimp
Water

Throw it all in the pot together and let boil until noodles are cooked through. Add the little seasoning packets (yes, I add all five). This is the ultimate in 'fast food' at our house. The kids like it. Peter eats first the veggies, then digs out and inhales the shrimp, then shoves the noodles in as fast as he can! :) I only add one or the other of the peas and corn (usually I add and cook the peas) because I use the other as an 'ice cube' to cool their soup down. So, I give them their bowl of soup, then let them take a handful of frozen corn to add and cool it off. I like this better than just adding ice, as it adds more veggies and they think it's super cool! :) I usually make this as a quick lunch, but it could be used in a pinch for dinner. You could have a salad with it!