Easter Nests

For Easter, I made little chocolate candy nests. I saw the idea on the internet a few years back, but never got around to trying it.

Just melt chocolate in a double boiler (bowl in a pot of hot water, if you don't have a fancy one), and stir in broken pretzels and peanuts. When everything is stirred together, shape the mix into nests on parchment paper. Add little candy eggs, and voila!

Chicken Vegetable Soup

This is a recipe for Chicken Vegetable Soup that I got from my grandmother. I have no idea if she invented it herself or if it is an adaptation of a recipe that she found on the internet (yes, my grandmother gets on the internet).

Whole chicken or a few chicken legs or a few chicken breasts (This times I used 2- 1lb chicken breasts)
2 cans of chicken broth
3-4 ribs of celery
3-4 large carrots
1 medium onion
2 garlic cloves
1 can dices tomatoes
1/2 cup frozen peas
3/4 cup cooked quinoa
Any other vegetables you have around and want to add

Boil chicken in large pot until cooked. (note: if using chicken breast instead of whole chicken, chicken broth can be used in place of water). Remove from water and chop into small pieces. Reserve water (now broth) and add canned broth.
Add chopped celery, carrots, onions, garlic cloves to boiling water and canned chicken broth. Add salt, pepper and garlic or herbs (to taste) to the boiling water.
Boil until vegetables are cooked. Add frozen peas and cooked quinoa 15 minutes before serving.
Serve hot.

Sugarless Granola

I have experimented with many, many recipes for granola, trying to find one that didn't use cane sugar but still stuck together alright. I tried different amounts of nuts and seeds, different spices, different sweeteners, and different amounts of oil, and, overall, this is my favorite recipe:

Sugarless Granola
Mix in bowl:
5 cups of oatmeal
2 cups of chopped almonds
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/3 cups pumpkin seeds
1/2 raw wheat germ
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon salt

Add:
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup honey
1/2 fruit juice

Cook at 300 for 45 minutes (stir occasionally).
While that cooks, microwave and soak 1/3 cup craisins in 1/2 cup fruit juice.
Add craisins to oatmeal mixture and cook until it looks done--about 30 minutes more.

Enjoy plain, in yogurt, or with milk.

Creole Jambalaya

This recipe is from my cousins' grandma (who is not related to me) who lives in New Orleans. My aunt believes that the Chachere and mace seasoning are necessary.

According to Wikipedia, creole jambalaya originates from New Orleans. It was an attempt by the Spanish to make paella where saffron was not readily available. Tomatoes became the substitute for saffron. Eventually, French influence changed this into a unique dish. Creole jambalaya includes tomatoes, whereas Cajun jambalaya does not.

Jambalaya
½ cup oil
1 chopped onio 1 chopped red bell pepper
3 crushed chopped garlic cloves
1 cup long grain white rice
1 cup cooked chicken meat (1lb raw)
2 chopped smoked sausages (10 to 14oz)
14oz can diced tomatoes
Tony Chachere Creole seasoning
¼ teaspoon mace

Saute onions, bell pepper and garlic in oil in a cast iron dutch oven over medium heat until onion is translucent. Add rice and cook stirring until rice is coated and a bit translucent. Add chopped meats and stir for another minute or two. Add canned tomatoes and a little less than one can of water. Season with Tony's Chachere and mace. If needed add a little Frank's Red Hot Sauce. Cover and cook for about 20 minutes until rice is cooked through. Don't stir until cooked.

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream For...

Ice cream!
As the days hint at warming up, I start craving warm-weather foods, like rich, creamy, melt-on-your-tongue homemade ice cream. This is the recipe my family follows:

Vanilla Ice Cream
4 cups of 1/2 and 1/2
2 cups whipping cream
2 tablespoons vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar

Just combine everything in an ice cream maker, surround the inner bowl with ice and rock salt, and turn it on for a few hours. If it's a hand-mixer maker, crank the lever 'til you feel like your arm might fall off, and trade turns with whoever is willing. The recipe makes about a 1/2 gallon of ice cream.

Making homemade ice cream brings back memories of playing at my best friend's house when I was in elementary school. Just when we started to get bored, her dad brought out a hand cranked ice cream mixer, and my friend and I traded off turning it until our arms were sore and her dad took over the job. That ice cream was the best I'd ever tasted, though that was probably because we had worked hard for it.

Pumpkin Soup

I didn't follow a recipe for this one. I just made it up as I went along, tasting it every now and then and guessing what it needed.

1.5 cans pumpkin (total of 45oz of pumpkin)
2 cups water
1 can chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
1/4 cup cream
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter

I boiled together the water, pumpkin, and chicken broth, then added the spices, cream, milk, and butter bit by bit as I tasted it. I thought it was great in the end.

Parmesan Chicken

I made Parmesan Chicken today. It is very simple: boil the chicken in a pan in the oven, put the chicken on a cookie sheet, top with mayo and spices and Parmesan, and cook again until the Parmesan melts. It's not very pretty (melted cheese never really is), but it tastes good! Everyone in my family likes it, and it's hard to find a dish that everyone likes. The recipe:

5 chicken breasts
2/3 cup water
1/3 white wine

Place approximately 5 boneless skinless chicken breast in Pyrex dish. Poach in 2/3 cup water, 1/3 cup white wine at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Place on cookie sheet.

Mix: 1 cup mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon of Dijon mustard

Spread generously over top of chicken breast. Sprinkle with Parmesan.
Broil on high racks for 5 or so minutes.

Serve hot.

Cake Pops

Cake pops have been around for a while, but went mostly undetected until Bakerella popularized them. Cake pops are a simple idea: take sugar and flour and a few other ingredients, and keep adding sugar until you have something cute and sweet. Simple step by step:

1. Bake a cake
2. Let it cool
3. Crumble it into a huge bowl (you'll need space)
4. Mix up your favorite frosting
5. Mix the crumbled cake and frosting together
6. Roll mixture into 1 inch balls
7. Pop in the refrigerator
8. Melt candy melts (microwave or stove top, and stir frequently)
9. When cake balls are cool, pull out of the refrigerator
10. Poke a skewer into each cake ball
11. Gently submerge cake ball in melted candy melts.
12. Pull out, stand upright (putting the skewers in Styrofoam works well)
13. When candy melts have hardened, decorate with extra candies (attach with frosting) or draw on with edible ink pens.
14. Let cake pops dry, then cover with plastic wrap
15. Serve to happy friends and family

 

If you like baking, this project is definitely worth trying! If you don't enjoy baking, you might want to get a baking friend to join you, as it can be difficult to shape the cake pops so that they look good and stay on the stick. If you want to add extra shapes, like ears, pinch the cake ball before you set it in the refrigerator. If you want more tips and instructions, I highly recommend Bakerella's book, Cake Pops.

RED Quinoa

I tried red quinoa today. Usually I have the yellow (golden) quinoa, but I had heard of red quinoa, so I decided to try it. The grains, both before and after cooking, were smaller than yellow quinoa. I thought that the red quinoa tasted more bitter than the yellow quinoa, and that the yellow quinoa had a pleasant flavor. However, my dad thought the opposite: yellow quinoa tasted more bitter to him than the red quinoa did. My mother couldn't tell the difference between the two quinoas.

If you have tried one quinoa or another, I would recommend trying the other variety.

 

Perhaps, if you like lighter, more bland food, you will like golden quinoa better than red quinoa, but if you like heavily flavored food and meats, you might like red quinoa.

(Photo via ridiculouslyhealthy.com)

Skirt Steak Fajitas

My father loves steak, so I decided to try a steak recipe for him. I don't like touching raw meat, so my mother and I made the dish together. The recipe:

At least 30 minutes prior to grilling, whisk together the marinade ingredients into a mixing bowl. Add the sliced steaks into a large plastic bag and cover with the wet marinade. Marinate for at least 30 minutes at room temperature, or overnight in the refrigerator. I marinaded but didn't grill. I stir-fried in our large pan on high heat, removed the meat to a hot plate (covered them to keep warm) and stir-fried the veggies. Then I added it all back together and warmed it briefly.

Skirt Steak/Marinade
1/4 Cup Canola Oil
2 Limes, Juiced
4 Cloves Garlic, finely minced
2 lbs Skirt Steak
Fresh Cracked Pepper
1 Tablespoon Chili Powder
1 Teaspoon Cumin Powder

Onions/Peppers/Tortillas
1/4 Cup Canola Oil
1 Large Red Onion, sliced into thin strips
1 Large Green Bell Pepper, sliced into thin strips
1 Large Yellow Bell Pepper, sliced into thin strips
8 – 10 Large Flour Tortillas

Toppings/Garnish
Pico de Gallo/Salsa
Sour Cream

At least 30 minutes prior to grilling, whisk together the first three ingredients into a mixing bowl, set aside.  Next, season the steaks liberally on both sides with the remaining ingredients.  Add the seasoned steaks into a large plastic bag and cover with the wet marinade.  Marinate for at least 30 minutes at room temperature, or overnight in the refrigerator.

Prepare grill.  Preheat half of the grill to high heat, with the other half devoted to low heat.  If using coals, pile coals on one side to create a direct and indirect heat surface.  Place a small cast iron skillet over direct heat; add 1/4 cup canola oil.  Add onions and peppers to the skillet and season with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper.  Sauté until the ingredients are slightly charred and just tender, 3 – 4 minutes.  Move skillet to indirect heat and sauté until tender and caramelized, about 20 minutes.  As onions and peppers are finishing, remove skirt steaks from bag, shaking off excess marinade.  Grill steaks over direct heat for 2 minutes.  Flip steaks and grill for another 1 – 2 minutes for medium/medium rare depending on the size and thickness.  Remove steaks from grill, tent with foil, and rest for 3 – 4 minutes.

Grill tortillas over direct heat until warmed and slightly charred, about 30 seconds to 1 minute, keep warm.  Thinly slice skirt steak across the grain and place a generous portion onto a warmed tortilla.  Top the steak with onions and peppers.  Finally, finish with any of the desired toppings and serve immediately.

This is a great recipe for anyone who likes steak or bell peppers.

Swedish Meatballs

My mother served meatballs at my sister's wedding reception. Meatballs might be an old fashioned idea but they reminded her of the "good old days". She started with a recipe from the church cookbook (published in the 70's), and then tried many, many, many recipes. My dad and I were her guinea pigs. Eventually I said, "I'm done, I am not going to eat any more meatballs," but, I have to admit, they are so good that I had to have one each time she tried a new recipe. Because the recipe is for a crowd, expect to make a lot of meatballs unless you cut it down.

Swedish Wedding Meatballs
(for a crowd)
2 eggs
1/2 cup cream
2 slices of good white bread, crust removed and torn into pieces
1 lb Jimmy Dean Natural Sausage
2oz finely chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon mace
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 lb 85% ground beef

Sauce:
1 cube butter
1/2 cup flour
1 can Swanson's chicken broth
1 1/2 cups half/half cream
1 teaspoons Lowery's seasoning
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1-2 teaspoons Kitchen Bouquet

Whisk the egg and cream together in a medium bowl. Add the bread and set aside. In a standing mixer beat the pork, onion, nutmeg, allspice, mace, pepper, salt and brown sugar on high for 2 minutes. Add the egg mixture after making sure it has no bread chunks remaining. Mix for 1 minute. Make sure the mixture is homogenous. Add the beef and stir until just mixed. Dip a tablespoon in a bowl of cold water and scoop out a generous tablespoon of mixture. Place it onto a broiling pan. Convection roast or bake the meatballs for 25 minutes. Add to the sauce.

Sauce: melt the butter, add the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the rest and cook as you would a gravy. Add more liquid if the gravy is too thick.

Banana Bread

I love banana bread. It is my favorite sweet bread, and it's simple to make. Use very ripe bananas. Here is my favorite recipe (from my church's cookbook from the 1970's):

Banana Bread
½ cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
3 ripe bananas (1 cup mashed)
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons milk
¼ to 1 cup chopped walnuts

Cream together butter and sugar. Add beaten eggs. Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with banana pulp. Add chopped nuts. Bake in a greased loaf pan at 350 for 40 to 60 minutes or until done.

This recipe makes one big loaf, or two little ones, or, if you have tiny pans like I do, 8 tiny loafs. You can cut down on the sugar without affecting the flavor very much, but the more sugar you leave in, the more moist the sweetbread will be. Also, you can replace some of the flour with oatmeal, and if will still taste delicious.