One Less Thing I'll Buy - Hamburger Buns

We don't have hamburgers real often, but were hungry for some tonight. And ground beef was on sale. I've always bought buns because if you use as much ketchup as Taylor and I do, it soaks through bread and makes a mess. Yuck.

I've tried making hamburger buns with my wholegrain bread and roll recipes, but they were never quite what I was looking for.

The last time I went to visit my friend Laura, she surprised me with two things--a Pampered Chef large sheet pan and this cookbook.

I'd forgotten I ordered the sheet pan from Laura's last P. Chef party. But she gave me the book just because she's a really nice friend. :) Laura, have you tried the hamburger buns in this book? Oh...mmmm....wow...They were really good.

I'll post my slightly altered version of the recipe over in my kitchen.

I wanted sweet potato oven fries but frozen tater tots were easier, which was the deciding factor tonight. Note ketchup. I added more after taking the picture.


Here's something else I found out recently in case anyone is like me and uses an indoor grill when you're too busy [reading] to fire up the charcoal grill--

As soon as you take your food off and unplug the grill, make a double layer of paper towels that’s as long as your grill.

Wet the paper towels and carefully place on the hot grilling surface. Close the lid, and wait for the grill to cool down.

The heat from the grill causes steam to form off the wet paper towels. This steam loosen oils and cooked on food. Once the grill is cool, remove and throw away the paper towels. Wipe the grill clean with another paper towel, and you’re done! Easy peasy.

Easy Breakfast Sausage

We had breakfast burritos this morning, like at Aunt Sanji's. Our breakfast wasn't as pretty as the one in the picture.

I didn't tell the boys there was anything different about the sausage and they didn't mention it. It was different. Not bad, just different. A little too salty. I just used ground pork, but it didn't break up easily into small pieces like like regular sausage or hamburger.

Mark thought it was ground turkey. Hmmm...now I'm wondering if I accidentally picked up the wrong thing. Maybe I was in the turkey department instead of the pig department. It was late and I was in a hurry...

I think next time I'll experiment with blending pork and hamburger. We don't have sausage very often, and my only reason for trying this is to avoid the nitrates in processed sausage.

1 lb. ground pork
¼ to 1 tsp. sage
¼ to ½ tsp. marjoram (optional)
¼ to ½ tsp. thyme (optional)
¼ to ½ tsp. coriander (optional)
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 to 3 Tbsp. water

Sprinkle seasonings over the ground meat. Knead until thoroughly blended. Refrigerate for 2 or 3 days to allow flavors to blend. If you plan to use the sausage immediately, the spices will not be as strong. I used the larger amount of all spices, but will cut salt back next time.

Gingersnaps and Sweet Pumpkin Dip

Here ya' go, Marcy. I'm looking for a gingersnap recipe that uses less oil, but this one is really good. I'll post a recipe for pumpkin dip also. I love 'em together.

2 cups sugar
1½ c. vegetable oil
2 eggs
½ c. molasses
4 c. all-purpose flour
4 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbsp. ground ginger
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
aditional sugar

In a mixing bowl, combine sugar and oil; mix well. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Stir in molasses. Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.

Shape into ¾-in. balls and roll in sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes or until cookie springs back when touched lightly. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Sweet Pumpkin Dip

4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1 can (30 oz.) pumpkin pie filling mix
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger

In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar and cream cheese, beating until well blended. Beat in remaining ingredients. Store in airtight container in refrigerator. Serve with gingersnaps.

This dip is really good, but it makes SO much and it doesn't freeze very well--it starts tasting old soon. I've seen recipes using a small can of pumpkin (instead of the large can of pie filling mix) and only one package of cream cheese. That should make a more manageable amount. :)

Chocolate Oat Squares

I made these for Taylor to take to a party tonight.

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter, softened, divided
2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
4 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
3 cups quick-cooking oats
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans

In a large mixing bowl, cream 1 cup butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Combine the oats, flour, 1 teaspoon salt and baking soda; stir into creamed mixture. Press two-thirds of oat mixture into a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan.

In a saucepan, combine milk, chocolate chips and remaining butter and salt. Cook and stir over low heat until chocolate is melted. Remove from the heat; stir in pecans and remaining vanilla. Spread over the crust. Sprinkle with remaining oat mixture.

Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into squares. Yield: 4 dozen.

For the Birds

The woodpeckers have been pouting for a few days because their food was gone, so I made them a new batch.I'm posting the recipe here so I don't have to keep looking for it. ÜPeanut Butter Bird Treats
2 cups crunchy peanut butter
2 cups lard
4 cups rolled oats (not quick oats)
4 cups cornmeal
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup raisins
1 cup bird seed (or whole wheat kernels or other grains)

Melt lard and peanut butter over low heat.
Stir in remaining ingredients.
Scoop into zipper-style sandwich bags.
Freeze until it is hardened.
Place in mesh bag or suet feeder.

Note: I don't know of any good reason to feed the birds sugar, so I leave that out. I felt kind of bad when I realized I was giving them hydrogenated lard. I need to stop by the butcher's and pick up some healthier lard. :) Will the health benefits of the organic cornmeal cancel out the cheap-o peanut butter? Not sure I'll invest in the $$$ natural kind for them.

Chicken Enchiladas

I tried this new recipe last night--thanks Emily. Everyone really liked it. I tweaked it a little because I didn't have a few ingredients. I'll type the original recipe, adding my changes in italic.

Chicken Enchiladas
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
2 Tbps. butter
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 small can chopped green chilies (I was a wimp and put in only 1/2 can. I'll use the whole can next time, though.)
1/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground coriander (I don't have any--used 1/2 tsp. cumin instead--I love cumin.)
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
1-1/2 cups Monterey Jack cheese (Fiesta blend was in my fridge.)
12 - 6" tortillas (Mine were larger. I just used 6, I think)

Saute onions and green pepper in 2T of butter until tender. Combine in bowl with the chicken and green chilies and set aside.

Melt 3T butter in skillet. Add flour, salt and coriander. Slowly add chicken broth, stirring constantly and cook over medium high heat until mixture boils.

Remove from heat and stir in the sour cream and half of the cheese. Stir 1/2 cup sauce into chicken mixture.

Dip each tortilla into remaining sauce to soften. Fill each tortilla with 1/4 cup chicken mixture (I used 1/2 cup) Roll up tortilla and place in a 9x13" pan that has been sprayed with PAM. Remember, I used only 6 tortillas. They fit very snugly into a 9" square pan.

Pour remaining sauce over tortillas and top with remaining cheese. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

mmmm....

Caramel Apple Salad

Emily, here's the recipe you asked for. It was simple and very good. Reminded me of caramel apples, just like the name says!!

8 oz. frozen whipped topping
1 small box instant butterscotch pudding
8 oz. crushed pineaple w/ juice
3 cups diced apples
1 cup chopped peanuts
1 cup mini marshmallows

Mix whipped topping and pineapple with juice. Add apples, nuts, and marshmallows. Combine well and refrigerate.

Doesn't get much simpler than that! This was very good, but we thought it was a little "thick." Maybe I should have put in a little milk to make it a bit creamier.

Note: Hey Lori!! Did we make this with regular pudding? I accidentally picked up sugarfree and tried that--it wasn't nearly as good as when we made it at your house. What's with that?

UPDATE: For best results, do not use sugarfree pudding.

Corn Chowder

6 slices bacon
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
2 medium red potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 cups frozen whole kernel corn, thawed
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup milk
1 can cream-style corn
1 tsp. beef-flavored bouillon granules
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. sugar
1 bay leaf
1 cup chopped sweet red pepper
2 tsp. butter, melted

Cook bacon in large skillet until crisp; remove bacon, reserving drippings in skillet. Crumble bacon and set aside.

Saute onion and celery in drippings, stiring constantly, until tender.

Transfer sauteed vegetables to a large saucepan and add potato, corn, half-and-half, milk, cream-style corn, bouillon granules, salt, sugar, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 25 to 30 minutes until potatoes are tender.

Meanwhile saute red pepper in butter over medium heat until tender. Stir red pepper and bacon into soup.

Yield: about 7-1/2 cups chowder

This is my favorite recipe from our recent "test kitchen day."

Pasta with Chicken and Squash

16 oz. spiral pasta
2 c. heavy whipping cream
1 Tbsp. butter
2 c. (8 oz.) shredded Mexican cheese blend
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
5 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
2 medium zucchini, julienned
2 medium yellow summer squash, julienned
1-1/4 tsp. salt, divided
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced
1/4 tsp. each dried basil, marjoram and savory
1/4 tsp. dried rosemary, crushed
1/8 tsp. rubbed sage


Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat cream and butter in a large saucepan until butter melts. Add cheese; stir until cheese is melted. Rinse and drain pasta; add to cheese mixture. Cover and keep warm.

In a skillet, saute onion and garlic in 3 Tbsp. oil until onion is tender. Add squash; cook until tender. Add 1 tsp. salt & pepper; remove and keep warm.

Add rest of oil to skillet; cook chicken, herbs, and remaining salt until juices run clear.

Place pasta on a serving platter; top with squash, then chicken.
Yield: 8 servings


This is a favorite. But it seems to take awhile to fix. I'm going to experiment when I make it this week and see if I can freeze parts of it.

Brownies

Marcy asked for a good brownie recipe. I didn't want to send one that I wasn't positive was good. Since I haven't made brownies for a long time, I decided I'd better whip up a batch. ::sigh::

So I got my old recipe and pulled a few ideas from a new one I came across. Here's what I came up with. These are our new favorite brownies! Dark chocolate and very fudgy.

½ c butter
½ c chocolate chips
1 c sugar
2 eggs
½ tsp vanilla
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder
1/3 c cocoa (I really like dutch-process cocoa)
½ c flour
½ c nuts

Melt butter and chocolate chips over low heat. Remove from heat and mix in sugar, eggs and vanilla. Stir in remaining ingredients. Spread in greased 8” square pan. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, or until brownies begin to pull away from side of pan.

If you want to make a 9x13 pan, just double everything.

If you can't find baking powder, just leave it out I guess. The new recipe I found didn't have any in it. If you need me to try a batch without, just let me know. ::sigh:: (Marcy is in Thailand and has some trouble finding certain ingredients.)

I saw that you can get chocolate chips. If they're very expensive, you could leave them out too. My original recipe didn't call for them. Again, let me know if you want me to make a “trial” batch without the chips. It's really a lot of trouble, but I'm willing to help.
And I didn't put nuts in the brownies I made yesterday. And I'm gonna have to experiment with cutting back the sugar. That's just too much.!

I can't tell you how these taste after they've cooled, or how well they keep. Here's the pan after sitting out on the counter for just a few minutes.

I think you might not have leftovers to bother with either, though.

Chicken and Biscuits

I had some cooked chicken left over from a chicken & noodle casserole I tried the other day. (Won't be making that again.) Tonight I mixed this up to put in the freezer but decided to have it for supper tomorrow instead.

This is one of our favorites. Easy, fast, and freezer-friendly. I didn't have all the ingredients, so my substitutions are listed below.

1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped celery
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 c. butter
1/2 c. flour
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. pepper
4 c. chicken broth
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen green peas
4 c. cubed cooked chicken

In a large saucepan, saute onion, celery and garlic in butter until tender. Add flour, sugar, salt, basil, pepper and chicken broth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir 1 minute. Add peas and cook about 5 minutes longer, stirring often. Stir in chicken.

Pour into a greased 9x13" baking dish.

Here the original recipe calls for dumplings:

2 c. biscuit/baking mix
2 tsp. dried basil
2/3 c. milk

Combine ingredients and drop by tablespoonfuls onto top.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 30 minutes. Cover and bake 10 minutes more or until dumplings are done . . . if you made the dumplings, that is. I've never tried them.

I always make homemade biscuits and bake separately then top them with the chicken.

Tonight I was out of onion, celery and green peas; so I just used a package of frozen mixed vegetables. I sampled a bit and it still tasted fine.

Creamy Italian Chicken--Crock Pot Recipe

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
2 pkg. Good Seasons Italian dressing mix
¼ - ½ cup water
2-8oz. pkg. cream cheese
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 pkg. angel hair pasta

Combine chicken, dressing mix, and water in crock pot and cook on low for 3 hours, stirring a time or two to break up pieces. I just dump in a package of the frozen chicken that I posted about above. Fast..fast..fast..

Soften cream cheese, then mix with soup; add to crock pot and cook 1 hour longer.

Serve sauce over pasta. Sauce may need more or less water, depends on how thick you like it.

Granola Recipe - for Lori

Here's the granola I've made forever.

12 c. old-fashioned oats or rolled 7-grain mix
2 c. coconut (I use WIDE ribbons, not the common shredded kind)
3 c. raw sunflower seeds
1 c. flour
2 c. peanuts
2 c. honey
1 1/2 c. oil

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Heat honey and oil (I usually cut back a little on both). Pour over oat mixture and stir. I bake this in a really big pan that barely fits in the oven. If you have only a 9x13, you'll have to 1/2 everything.

Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour, stirring well every 20 minutes. Stir a few times as it cools to prevent sticking to pan.



I think this recipe looks really good. I plan to try it soon:

De'Etta's Granola

*12 C Oats
1 C Grape Nuts (we like the clumps and crunch but if you don't use more seeds/nuts or oats)
1 C Wheat Germ
1 C Flax Seed
1 - 2 C of Cashews (I get these raw and in bulk from the co-op)
1 - 2 C Almonds

I use 4 C of crunchies (nuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds - whatever I have)

**1 1/2 C Oil
2 C honey
1 T pure vanilla flavoring
2 T pure almond flavoring

I heat the oil and honey in the microwave until boiling. Meanwhile mix all else but the flavorings. Add the vanilla and almond to the liquid mix. Pour the liquid mix over the dry mix and combine well. Pour onto two greased cookie sheets (big ones) and bake at 350* for 20 - 30 minutes stirring every 10 min....OR dehydrate for 12 - 14 hours......Cool and store in an air tight container.

Comments:
This is good to snack on, eat cold or heat up with milk in the microwave.

*This makes enough to fill a big Rubbermaid cereal keeper with a couple of bowls left over...guessing most would want to 1/2 it?

**I used olive oil and it is fine - coconut oil would be really good in it. We like crunchy and this hasn't been turning out as crunchy as we like it down here....so I plan to decrease the oil to 3/4 - 1 C of oil next time.

I don't put dried fruit IN the granola because some in my family like it plain. You could add coconut, raisens, dates, pineapple....

Coconut-Almond Cereal

Preheat oven to 300.

Combine in a large mixing bowl:

2 c. whole wheat flour
2 c. coconut
3 c. quick oats
1 c. slivered almonds
3 Tbsp. sesame seeds
up to 3Tbsp. water
1/2 c. honey
5 Tbsp. oil

Mix well. Bake in 2 9x13" pans until lightly browned, about 30-35 minutes, stirring occasionally to produce crumbles of desired size. Serve as cold cereal.

Here's a post from a recent cooking day to show how brown each of these should get. Granola is on the left in the white container. Coconut-Almond Cereal is in the blue bowl.

One More Cereal Recipe - Grape Nuts

No guarantees on this one. I made it only once. I remember it was Luke's favorite, and it was a pain to make without a food processor. I need to try it again. I'm thinking it would be good mixed in with granola.

Preheat oven to 350.
Combine in large mixing bowl:

3 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. wheat germ
1 c. brown sugar or 1/2 - 3/4 c. honey
2 c. buttermilk
1 tsp. baking soda
pinch salt

Combine all ingredients, mix until smooth. Spread dough on 2 large greased cookie sheets. Bake 25-30 minutes.

While still warm, break into chunks and whirl about 1 cupful at a time in blender or food processor.

Crisp in a 250 degree oven for 20-30 minutes. Store in airtight container.

Snickerdoodles

I made snickerdoodles once in a cooking project in 4-H. We rolled the dough into balls and baked them--they didn't spread out a bit; just stayed hard, dry little rocks.

So years later, when my friend Shelly said snickerdoodles were her family's favorite, I thought that either her family was a little strange or she must have some valuable information that I needed. This is Shelly's recipe with my alterations. I can't say these are my family's favorite--only because there's no chocolate involved.

But they are my most-requested by friends.

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup butter, softenend
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon

Mix 1 1/2 c. sugar, the butter, and eggs. Stir in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Shape dough with medium cookie scoop into balls.

Mix 2 Tbsp. sugar and the cinnamon; roll balls in mixture to coat. Place about 2" apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees until set, about 10 minutes. Remove immediately from cookie sheet.