Category Archives: Recipes

It’s Chili Time!

1 Reply

Now that the cold weather is here, it’s time to make more serious use of all the dutch ovens in the house. Soups and stews. Yessir! I have a chili recipe that I probably got off the label of a can of kidney beans. I’ve had it for over 35 years though, so I really can’t remember.

1 large onion, choppedIMG_0976
1 green pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pound ground beef
1 large can tomatoes (I like mine diced)
1 8-oz. can seasoned tomato sauce
1-2 tbsps. chili powder
3 whole cloves
1 bay leaf
1-1/2 tsp. salt
2 15 oz. cans red kidney beans, drained

Continue reading…

Blueberry Lemon Muffins

Leave a reply

IMG_5866This has become one of my go-to recipes in blueberry season. You can’t add enough lemon in my opinion.

“When blueberries are in season, these muffins make a glorious start to the day. But, even when berries are out of season, they’re still pretty sensational. For fresh berries, substitute the kind that are individually quick-frozen and let them thaw slightly before folding them into the batter. (Never use frozen berries packed in syrup.) These muffins are just as delicious when made with wild black raspberries. Adding cornmeal to the batter gives a slight coarseness to the texture, which I particularly like.” — Sheila Lukins Continue reading…

Twice-Cooked Pork

Leave a reply

This one has been a favorite for many years. It takes a little bit of planning since the pork butt needs cooking a day ahead, but it’s well worth the time. I added these cute little yellow squash I got at a farmers market. You could cut them into chunks, but I julienned them.IMG_5584

Preparation time: About 5 minutes
Cooking time: About 45 minutes to simmer; about 6 minutes to stir-fry.
The pork in this spicy Szechwan dish really is cooked twice. First simmered, then stir-fried (if you like, you can even do the cooking on different days). Sweet and hot bean sauces add a distinctive flavor-but if you can’t find them, you may use hoisin sauce and chilies with equally tasty results. Continue reading…

Roasted Cauliflower Quiche

Leave a reply

IMG_5537This recipe comes with a caveat. My husband (hereinafter referred to as D—) and I both think this needs some pepping up. I’ll share it the way we made it though. I’d love to hear what ideas you have for additions.

1 small head cauliflower, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices (about 2 cups)
4 1/2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper
5 cloves garlic, 3 thinly sliced and 2 finely chopped
1/2 cup fresh coarse breadcrumbs
8 eggs (or equivalent egg substitute)
3/4 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp. grated parmesan cheese
3 tbsp. chopped parsley Continue reading…

Yogurt-Marinated Grilled Chicken

Leave a reply

I have my friend Jennifer T. to thank for this. She was getting rid of a bunch of food magazines (porn as far as I’m concerned), and I was happy to have them. I can’t tell you which magazine this came from though. Nothing left on the bottom of the clipping to tell me. So let’s just say it could’ve been Gourmet, Food Network, Taste of Home, or Rachael Ray. Continue reading…

Zucchini Fries

1 Reply

I am not a huge fan of zucchini. Generally, when faced with a harvest of varying sizes of the things, I turn them into something else entirely, like zucchini bread. But my husband loves squash in any form, so I tried to find something that would make us both happy. This came from allrecipes.com. I liked the flavors and the low carb idea here.Chicken Header

My two biggest hints are: 1) drain, drain, drain the zucchini. I drained mine for about 2 hours and hit it with the kosher salt twice. 2) rinse the dickens out of it before you coat them. All that salt will ruin the flavor if you don’t get most of it off. Continue reading…

Lemony Potato Salad

1 Reply

These days my husband and I are trying to watch what we eat. Some of us more than others. By which I mean that I am really bad about staying away from stuff I like. Like massive quantities of cheese and mayonnaise. But, in the interest of keeping the both of us around on Earth longer, I went looking for a potato salad recipe that didn’t have any mayo in it. And TA DA! I found this on MyRecipes.com

Ordinarily, I leave recipes alone until I’ve made them once. However, this one looked like it needed a little extra crunch. So I added red bell pepper and radish slices. And some fresh dill I have running rampant in my garden. Maybe next time I’ll add a bit of celery too. Potato Salad

Yield: Makes 6 servings, Total: 50 Minutes

Ingredients

2 pounds red potatoes, cut into eighths
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3 green onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Preparation

1. Bring potatoes and salted cold water to cover to a boil in a large Dutch oven; boil 15 to 17 minutes or just until tender. Drain and let cool 5 minutes.

2. Whisk together olive oil and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Add warm potatoes, green onions, and parsley; toss to coat. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Nutritional Information

Amount per serving

Calories: 196 Fat: 9.7g Saturated fat: 1.4g Monounsaturated fat: 7.2g Polyunsaturated fat: 0.9g Protein: 3.1g Carbohydrate: 25.4g Fiber: 2.9g Cholesterol: 0.0mg Iron: 1.3mg Sodium: 302mg Calcium: 24mg

 

Appleanna Bread

1 Reply

I found this recipe over 25 years ago in a book about Thanksgiving traditions. It’s become a staple in our family ever since. And when you’ve been apple picking, it’s a great way to cook up some fresh off the tree fruit. It freezes really well too. I usually make half a dozen 1/4 size loaves and save them for later!
IMG_7126
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
2 very ripe bananas, peeled and smashed
2 cups apples. peeled and chopped (about 1/2″ dice)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour 9″ loaf pan. Cream together shortening and sugar until light. Add eggs. Sift together dry ingredients. Beat together with shortening mixture. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake 1-1 1/2 hours or until knife inserted into the middle comes out clean. If using 4 one quarter size loaf size pans, bake approx. 45 minutes.