Gingerbread Cookies

All right. I have to post this because we just made such a cool gingerbread house! Follow this recipe exactly to make cookies. To make a house, you'll probably have to double the recipe (or more) decrease the baking soda, and bake it twice as long so it will get good and hard.

Have fun!

GINGERBREAD COOKIES

1 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup molasses
2 Tbsp. vinegar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cloves
5 cups flour

Cream shortening and sugar; add egg, molasses and vinegar and beat until fluffy.
Beat in the soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon and cloves.
Mix in the flour by hand.
Refrigerate at least one hour.
Heat oven to 375.
Roll out dough to about 1/4-inch thick and cut out with cookie cutters.
Bake on very lightly greased cookie sheets for 5 to 6 minutes.

Cool and decorate as desired.

* For a gingerbread house: Roll the dough directly on lightly floured cookie sheets; cut out the patterns and remove excess dough. [I do not remove the dough from windows and doors before cooking—they will hold their shape if you cut them out, but leave the pieces in. While the pieces are still hot and fresh from the oven, re-cut them and remove them.]
Or you can fill the empty window spaces with crushed hard candy (like Jolly Ranchers) to make a stained glass effect, but you have to be careful not to burn your dough or the candy turns brown too.
Or, better yet, cook the house with the window-dough cut, but not removed. Remove the dough and let it cool. Now fill in the windows with home-made hard candy.

HARD CANDY

2 cups sugar
1 cup water
2/3 cup corn syrup
flavoring
food color

Combine sugar, water and corn syrup in a heavy saucepan.
Bring to a boil and cook until it reaches 300 degrees.
Add flavoring and coloring if desired. [I didn't do this, because I don't plan on eating our windows. Although maybe the kids do.]
While the syrup is still very hot, spoon it into your gingerbread house window spaces. Keep little kids away from this until it is completely cooled!

Now you can build your house! I just looked up "Gingerbread House Frosting Cement" online for a good glue recipe—it was easy to find.

Have fun!

Creamy Turkey & Wild Rice Soup

This soup is so delicious that Bruce was moved to tears the first time I made it. I’m not making this up.

CREAMY TURKEY & WILD RICE SOUP

1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 ½ cups thinly sliced celery
1 ½ cups sliced carrots
½ cup finely chopped shallots
¼ tsp. thyme
10 cups chicken broth
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. freshly ground pepper
⅔ cup wild rice
24 oz. turkey breast, cut in bite-size pieces or about 2 cups diced, cooked turkey
⅔ cup butter, melted
¾ cup flour
1 cup sour cream
2 cups milk
4 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Heat oil in a large stockpot.
Add mushrooms, celery, carrots, shallots and thyme; cook, covered and stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened—about 5 minutes.
Add chicken broth, salt, pepper and wild rice; bring to a boil.
Add the raw turkey pieces. [If you're using cooked turkey, add it when you add the sour cream.]

Lower heat to simmer, half-covered, for 45 minutes; stir occasionally.
In a small bowl, mix the melted butter with the flour. Add to hot soup, whisking until soup begins to thicken.
Add sour cream and milk; stir out any sour cream lumps.
Remove from heat and sprinkle chopped parsley on top.
Serve with sourdough bread. So delicious!

Red Pepper Pesto

I have never tried pesto before—the stuff made with fresh basil, pine-nuts and olive oil—although it sounds interesting. But I found this recipe for Roasted Red Pepper Pesto the other day and thought I'd try it out, and it's really tasty!

I wonder what "Pesto" means anyway? Uncooked, blended-up, pasta topping? Whatever it may mean, this was delicious.

ROASTED RED PEPPER PESTO

3 large red bell peppers, roasted *
4-6 unpeeled garlic cloves (4 medium-size or 6 smallish)
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup parsley leaves, packed
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese (use fresh, not the dried-out powdery stuff)
1 tsp. dry thyme leaves (or 1 Tbsp. fresh)
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Place garlic cloves into a small frying pan over medium-high heat. Toast them about 7 minutes, until they darken in color.
Remove garlic from the frying pan and peel. [You can snip off the root-ends of each clove with scissors and then just squeeze the garlic out by pinching from the top of the clove.]
Cut the roasted red peppers into about 2-inch pieces.
Put all ingredients into a food processor (or blender, if you don't have a food-processor) and process until smooth. [I did mine 1/2 at a time, because my processor is small. Also, it won't get 100% completely smooth. Just smooth-ish.]
Stir in salt and pepper, to taste
Now it is ready to serve over the top of your favorite pasta. I served mine with additional parmesan for sprinkling on top. :-)

Makes about four servings—depending on how much you like with your pasta. I think this would also make a marvelous sandwich spread to go with roast beef.

*To roast red bell peppers:
Slice off the tops and bottoms of the peppers.
Cut down one side of the pepper and spread the pepper open.
Remove seeds, and remove stem from top of pepper.
Lay all the pepper pieces skin-side-up on a baking sheet.
Place under a hot broiler and cook until the skin blackens—about 5-7 minutes. You may need to rotate the pan every now and then to make sure all the pepper pieces get blackened.
Remove from oven. Place peppers into a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap; let sit for 15 minutes.
Peel the skins from the peppers.
Now they are ready to use. Yum!
(They're delicious on sandwiches, too!)

Gourmet Granola Bars

When Bruce started a new job that didn't allow him much time for breakfast in the morning I, being the wonderful, devoted wife that I am, started looking for recipes for stuff that he could grab and take with him. And, since he has to spend a BIG portion of his day driving around, I also wanted to come up with some easy snacks. These chewy granola bars qualify on both counts.

This recipe is for a basic, chewy granola bar. You make it gourmet by adding your favorite stuff: chocolate chips, raisins, Craisins, sunflower seeds, dried fruit, nuts, coconut* . . . Whatever sounds best to you. And I'll tell you, I've come up with some killer-good creations!

GOURMET GRANOLA BARS

2 Tbsp. melted butter
2 Tbsp. corn syrup
3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal
1/3 cup wheat flour
1 1/2 cups Rice Krispies
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1 to 1 1/2 cups add-ins [the creative, gourmet stuff—see intro*]

1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup honey
1 Tbsp. water
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
In a small bowl, mix together the 2 Tbsp. melted butter, 2 Tbsp. corn syrup, and 3/4 cup sugar. It will turn into a big, wet glump of sugar. Set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together the oatmeal, wheat flour, Rice Krispies, salt, cinnamon and whatever gourmet add-ins you want.
With your fingers, mix the sugar stuff with the oatmeal stuff. You will have to work it in with your fingers to make sure it's evenly mixed. [Yes it is sticky and messy, but worthwhile—just keep repeating to yourself, "No more stale, cardboard, granola bars!" ]
In the small bowl that is now empty, mix the 1/4 cup melted butter, honey, water and vanilla until it's homogenized [how's that for using a big word?].
Pour this mixture over the oatmeal mixture and mix well—Yep! With your hands. It's just easier that way, and your hands will wash!
Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
Pour the granola mixture into the pan. Press it down firmly and evenly.
Bake for 25 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes.
Now you have a 9 x 13-inch granola bar. If you want smaller granola bars, cut it into pieces the size you like (I make 24 bars with a pan this size, which is comparable to store-bought bars). But leave the bars in the pan because they fall apart if you remove them while they're hot!
When they're mostly cooled you can take the bars out of the pan and put them into snack baggies, or an air-tight container.

Now you have a terrific, made-to-order snack for your family, you gourmet chef, you!
Bon appetit!

Tuna Casserole Supreme

I know. You're thinking, "How good can tuna casserole be?"
I know you're thinking this because I know that tuna casserole is THE default, can't-think-of-anything-else-to-make, last-minute dinner. A couple cans of cream-of-something soup, a couple cans of tuna and Voila! Dinner.

And that's how Bruce feels about it. He politely eats just enough to keep from starving.

But today I did something different; and Bruce said that I "transformed it from the last-minute, gotta-eat-something meal, to something [he'd] order at a restaurant and be glad that [he] did." High praise! And he said I'd better write what I did to make it before I forget. (He came up with the swell name, too.)

So here it is:

TUNA CASSEROLE SUPREME

1 1/4 lb. of your favorite pasta [I like penne]

1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
3 Tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup can-milk
1 1/2 cups milk
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup sour cream
3 cans tuna packed in water, drained, but reserve the liquid—you'll be using it .
6 oz. cheddar cheese, grated
2-3 oz. American cheese, finely diced
salt and pepper, to taste
dash Bon Appetit seasoning

1 cup Panko crumbs
onion powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1-2 Tbsp. butter

Put the pasta water on to boil after you chop the veggies, but before you cook the sauce. :-)

In a large skillet, melt 3 Tbsp. butter.

Add the chopped onion, chopped celery and 1/2 tsp. salt to the melted butter. Turn heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and translucent—5-8 minutes.
Add flour to onion mixture and stir until it's all moistened up with the butter and veggies.
Stir in the can-milk and the milk. Turn heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens up.
[Is your water boiling yet? If so, add the pasta—and keep an eye on it . . . who likes mushy pasta?]
Whisk the cream-of mushroom soup and the water from the cans of tuna into the sauce [don't whisk it into your boiling pasta!].
Whisk the sour cream into the sauce.
At this point I got out the hand-blender—because my kids won't eat anything that has the appearance of little veggie pieces in it—and I blend it until it's smooth. But this step is totally optional!
Stir in the tuna.
Season to taste with salt, pepper and Bon Appetit seasoning.
Add the cheese and stir until just melted, then remove from heat.
Now you can set it aside while you wait for the pasta to finish cooking.

Drain the cooked pasta and then put it into a LARGE baking dish.
Stir the sauce into the pasta.

Put the Panko crumbs into a separate, smallish bowl. Sprinkle them with onion powder and about 1/8 to 1/4 tsp. of salt.
Dollop the 2 Tbsp. butter onto the crumbs and work it into them with your fingers. You don't want to see any big pieces of butter.
Sprinkle seasoned crumbs on top of the casserole.
Bake at 325 for about 10-15 minutes, or until crumbs turn golden-brown. OR you could just stick it under the broiler until the crumbs look nice.

Serve it up hot! Mmmm—mmm good!

Frankenstein's Laboratory (Yogurt)

The very first time I ever heard of yogurt was when I was about ten or eleven. I was in bed, reading a book before I went to sleep—or probably yakking with Denise—when my dad came in with a little plastic cup of some green, almost pudding-looking stuff (lime flavor). He said, "Try this—it's really good." After I asked and found out it was called yogurt, and checked it out a little, I gave it a try. Yum! I was an instant yogurt fan.

At that time there was this big "healthy food" kick of the 70's going on, and yogurt was the new, trendy, healthy food. Yogurt makers appeared on the market. My mom got one and she made lots of yogurt for a while. It was super-good when it was mixed with her home-made strawberry freezer-jam. After a while the yogurt-making stopped and we just bought it when we wanted some.

Well, I just did the coolest thing last week! I made yogurt! Home-made yogurt—without a fancy yogurt-maker. It takes time, but it's not like you're slaving over it all day long; in fact, it's way easy. And if your family likes yogurt—if you cook with it, or put it in your smoothies like I do—it'll save money, and there's the added bonus of your being so cool because you can make your own yogurt. ;-)

Look at this:

Here's how this translates: You get TEN (10) times as much home-made yogurt as a little carton of Yoplait, for only 33 cents more. Greek Yogurt is thicker, so you probably get about EIGHT (8) times as much home-made yogurt as Greek Gods, for 66 cents less.
To make all things equal, 6 oz. of home-made yogurt would cost you about 8 cents! How's that for cool? You do need a slow-cooker and lots of time, but it's really easy to make.


HOME-MADE YOGURT

This makes a very soft yogurt. Well, it's pretty normal until you mix jam or other tasty stuff into it; then it's still yogurty, but a little thinner. If you like it thicker, then make it into Greek Yogurt (directions at the bottom of the page).

1/2 gallon (8 cups) 2% milk [you can use 1% or even fat-free milk]
a slow-cooker (crockpot)
1/2 cup plain yogurt, with live and active cultures [the live and active cultures are the important part—they are your "starter," just like a sourdough starter]
2 more Tbsp. cold milk
1 pkg. unflavored gelatin (like Knox)
a slow-cooker (Crockpot)
heavy bath towels [seriously!]

Pour 1/2 gallon of milk into the slow-cooker.
Put the lid on, turn it onto "low" and let it sit for 2 1/2 hours.
Turn the cooker off, leave the lid on and let it sit for 3 more hours.
At the end of the 3 hours, stir the gelatin into the 2 Tbsp. cold milk to soften. Let it stand for 5 minutes.
Stir the softened gelatin into the 1/2 cup plain yogurt.
Remove 2 cups warm milk from the slow-cooker and stir it into the yogurt mixture.
Stir the yogurt-milk stuff back into the milk in the slow-cooker.
Cover the slow-cooker and completely wrap it in heavy towels. Put it some place where it won't get bumped or jostled and let it sit for 8 hours.
After the 8 hours you have plain, Yoplait-style yogurt! Yes it's still warm, so put it in the refrigerator to chill.

Now you can add honey, jam, cinnamon-sugar, or fruit—or whatever you like best—to sweeten it and eat it. Or you can use it for cooking with.


GREEK YOGURT

So, what's the deal with Greek yogurt? Why does it cost twice as much as regular yogurt? Well, it's just so darn tasty—probably because it's thicker and creamier than regular yogurt. This also means it makes a good substitute for sour cream. (In recipes I still cut it 1/2 & 1/2 with sour cream—mostly because of cost though. So maybe we're in for a change.)

To make Greek-style yogurt:

Line a wire-mesh strainer with a coffee filter.
Scoop it full of yogurt and set it over a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for several hours*; the extra liquid stuff will slowly drain out of it. Voila! (Or maybe I should say, "Eureka!") Greek yogurt!

Enjoy!

* p.s. (March 18) I actually strained my yogurt for 24 hours (I forgot about it) and then it seemed more like commercial yogurt, but not quite as thick as commercial Greek yogurt. Still tasty though!

English Muffins

So Bruce has been bragging about me again. Now it's at his new job.

He has to go to work much earlier than I want to get up, so I decided to make him some breakfast things that can be frozen, so then he could grab something and re-heat it at work. This week I made chewy granola bars, and sausage and egg muffins (like they have at McDonald's). Since we didn't have English muffins handy and I didn't feel like going to the store, I made those too. And then, when his co-workers see what he's got, he starts bragging about how cool I am, and how I made the English muffins myself. Funny Bruce! :-)

So now I have a recipe request!

ENGLISH MUFFINS

You really could use any bread recipe for these. Just DO NOT PUNCH DOWN THE DOUGH; and then cook them on a skillet as per directions. :-)

1 cup warm water
1 cup warm milk
1/4 cup honey
2 Tbsp. yeast
1/4 cup melted butter
1 tsp. salt
5 1/2 to 6 cups flour
cornmeal

Dissolve the honey in the milk and water.
Add the yeast; let it proof.
Mix in the butter and salt.
Mix in enough flour to make a soft dough.
Knead remaining flour into the dough. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes.
Place dough in clean, greased bowl; cover and let rise about 1 hour.

Generously sprinkle 2 ungreased baking sheets with cornmeal. Do NOT grease the baking sheets!
DO NOT PUNCH DOWN DOUGH!

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to about 1/2-inch thick.
Cut dough into circles. [I use a wide-mouth canning lid.]
Place dough circles on the prepared baking sheets.
Gather up remaining dough; re-roll; cut, and place on sheets.
Generously sprinkle tops of circles with cornmeal; lightly press the cornmeal into the tops of the cirlcles.
Cover with wax paper and let rise until doubled—about 30-45 minutes.

Preheat skillet or griddle to 325 degrees.
Sprinkle cornmeal over skillet.
Place the English muffins in the skillet. Cook for about 6-8 minutes on each side, or until evenly browned.
Let cool to room temperature on a wire rack.

Split English muffins with a fork. Toast them and slather them with butter. Mmmmmm, best way ever to eat English Muffins!

Better Than Fried Chicken

OK. I have to admit that I am on a healthy, light-cooking kick. This is nothing new; I've been doing this kind of thing for years. But, aside from that, deep-frying anything is a big, total pain—especially chicken (which never seems to get cooked all the way through). And this is a really good recipe. I'm sure it would work beautifully with fish, too.

Use four split chicken breasts, or a whole, cut up chicken. If the breasts are big I will often cut them in half. Absolutely use the Panko crumbs—they give it a nicer texture than regular, fine bread-crumbs. [You can find them in the bulk-bins at WinCo. I've also seen them in boxes in the Asian food aisle at other stores.]

OVEN-FRIED CHICKEN

1 whole chicken [see note, above]
3 large egg whites
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/4 tsp. garlic
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
6 oz. panko bread crumbs
2 oz. dry wheat bread crumbs
a dash or two of Season-All (optional)
2 1/2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 425.
Place a wire rack on top of a baking sheet and spray it with cooking spray.
Mix the egg whites, Dijon mustard, thyme, garlic and cayenne pepper together in a shallow bowl.
Mix the panko crumbs, wheat bread crumbs, Season-All and vegetable oil together in a shallow dish.With your left hand, dip a chicken piece into the egg mixture.
With your right hand, dip the eggy chicken piece into the crumbs, pressing to make sure they stick.
Put the piece on the prepared rack, and repeat the process with the rest of the chicken pieces.
Spray the tops of the chicken pieces with cooking spray.
Bake until golden-brown and the meat is no longer pink, about 50-60 minutes.
Serve immediately.

Apple-Snickers Salad

Hi Tami! I believe you are the only die-hard who still reads my cookbook blog—a belief that stems from Melanie telling me that you do read it regularly. So, this recipe is for you, and it is to die for!

We had this the other night at our Cub Scout Blue-and-Gold Banquet. From a distance I thought it was potato salad; then, as I got closer to it I thought it looked more like apples. But what were the darker colored chunks? Ham? Bacon? Maybe grapes?
I was standing in the line, and had just determined to try it out, when the chef of this salad said, "It's really good. I know, it sounds weird, but it is so good." And so I found out that it was, indeed, apples, and the darker bits were chunks of Snickers bars. She didn't have to convince me that it would be good. It sounded excellent!

Just imagine getting one of those great-big, gourmet candy-apples—the ones that are double-dipped in caramel, and then coated in chocolate, and then possibly more chocolate, and then dipped in nuts. Well, take one of those, slice it up, and then dip it in dunk it into a sweet, creamy dip before taking a bite. Heavenly!

Now, I don't know if you can rightfully call this "salad" since it has candy-bars in it. But Michelle Moon, who gave me the recipe, says it is healthy because there's apples in it. So you can decide for yourself. Here is the recipe:

APPLE-SNICKERS SALAD

1 large pkg. instant vanilla pudding

1 3/4 cups milk

1/2 tub Cool Whip
8 regular-sized Snickers bars
6 medium-size tart apples [I think Granny Smiths are too tart. Try Jonathons, or Pink Ladies.]

In a large bowl, mix together the pudding, milk and Cool Whip.
Cut the Snickers bars into bite-size pieces. [You could use the bite-size bars, but I think the regular ones are better because you get more caramel and a tiny bit less chocolate.]
Add the Snickers to the pudding stuff; mix in.

Core and cut the apples into bite-size pieces. (Peeling them is optional.)

Hurry and mix the apples in with the rest of the stuff before they turn brown!
If it seems too thick, mix in about 1/4 cup more milk.
Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.

Enjoy it with other people. It's not that healthy!

Salmon-Noodle Soup

Sounds weird, huh? But it's pretty darn good and way easy to make. It's good with shrimp too—I mean, instead of the salmon; or I suppose you could use chicken. But I really like the salmon in it. Yum!

SALMON-NOODLE SOUP

6 cups water
1 tsp. salt
1 pkg. Oriental-flavor Ramen noodles
1 1/2 cups broccoli florets
1 celery rib, thinly sliced

10 oz. cooked salmon, broken into small pieces [you can use canned salmon, if you'd like]

Oor 3/4 lb. medium-size raw green shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cups diagonally-sliced carrots

2 cups snow peas or sugar-snap peas

4 green onions, sliced [use the green and white parts]

1 tsp. peeled and grated fresh ginger

1 medium garlic clove, finely chopped

1/2 tsp. sesame oil

soy sauce (optional)

Make sure all your veggies are peeled, chopped, sliced, and grated ahead of time—this cooks fast!

Bring water and salt to boil in a medium-large-ish size pot.
Add the noodles, but NOT the seasoning packet. Also add the broccoli and celery at this time and cook for 2 minutes.
Add the salmon or shrimp (or some of both, if you want). And add the carrots, peas, green onions, ginger, garlic clove, sesame oil, and now the seasoning packet, too. Cook for 1 minute.
Stir in a dash or two of soy sauce, if desired.
Serve immediately.

Yum-yum!