I’ve been getting a lot of complaints about my cooking lately.
Not from my husband.
No, from David, my four-year-old.
He informed me recently that pancakes are among one of my many culinary failings. “They’re not perfect like Grandma’s, and they’re too brown.” What he meant was my HOMEMADE pancakes are not perfectly round and evenly golden like the FROZEN ones my mother gives him at her house. (Just for the record, the ones I made were not burned.)
When we went to McDonald’s for breakfast a few days later, David pointed at the pancakes we ordered and said, “Look Mommie. That’s how you’re supposed to make pancakes.”
He told me my hamburgers have the same problem, and said that we need to purchase a burger mold he saw advertised on TV. “Your stove doesn’t make them right Mommie. Buy it.” I guess I should be glad he placed the blame on the stove that time.
Last night when I pulled some drop biscuits out of the oven for dinner he looked at them and asked, “Don’t you ever make flat biscuits?” He wanted the ones that come refrigerated in a cardboard tube.
Sometimes for lunch I make him little pizzas on hamburger buns, and he asks for “real” pizza. “Real” pizza comes from Little Caesars.
If I make homemade Mac&Cheese he tells me it’s the wrong kind. The right kind? Kraft of course.
I make dinner most nights, and most of what we eat I make from scratch. I even made a lot of David’s baby food, and I still ended up with a kid who would rather eat food from a box or a drive-thru.
If we went to Mexico for dinner tonight he’d ask where Taco Bell was so he could get a “real” taco.
Who wants an Enchirito?
I did something the other day that I vowed to myself I would NEVER, EVER do as long as I lived in my whole entire life even if the world as we know it ceased to exist.
I bought pre-cooked bacon.
Sshh! Don’t Tell anyone!
I used to pass incredulously by the pre-cooked bacon thinking how profuse and extravagant to spend $3 for 12 measly pieces of bacon when that same price gets you a whole pound of raw. I was not so lazy and slovenly that I couldn’t take the time to cook my own bacon.
But I was tired and I only needed a few slices, I justified.
Checking that no one was looking, I quickly pulled the offending product off the shelf, threw it in the cart and buried it under a bag of chips like it was a dime bag .
At the check out I didn’t make eye contact with the cashier, sure she was judging my indolent purchase.
But you know what?
I LOVE it!
I think I’m hooked.
First I put it on chicken sandwiches with Swiss cheese. If ever God created three foods to be eaten together, it’s those three. So tasty! Who needs Arby’s?
Then I had a couple pieces for breakfast.
You know you can warm that stuff up in the microwave and it’s just as greasy, salty and full of fatty goodness as regular bacon?
Today for lunch I crumbled some and put it on my salad.
D-I-V-I-N-E!
All of that scrumptiousness and non of the greasy, splattery mess.
I have two pieces left. Then I’m gonna have to go by some more.
Oh, the shame.
Here’s another good cold weather recipe. I changed it up a little bit so I could make it in the crock pot.
Crock Pot Beef Stew Recipe
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 pounds beef chuck, cubed
1/4 large onion, finely chopped
6 large potatoes, peeled and diced
1 small bag of cut and peeled carrots
1stalk of celery, finely chopped
3 (10.5 ounce) cans beef broth
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cold water
In a large skillet heat oil over medium high heat. In a Ziploc bag mix together the flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Add a small handful of meat at a time and shake until well coated. Brown in hot oil. Remove the browned meat and continue until all the meat is browned.
Lower heat to medium and add onion. Cook until tender. Remove onion and drain any remaining oil. Add onion and meat back into skillet. Add as much broth as you can to the skillet and bring to a boil. Then remove from stove and put all the skillet contents in a crock pot. Add any remaining broth. Stir in potatoes, carrots, and celery. Cook in crock pot on high 6 hours. Just about 30 minutes before serving pour crock pot contents into a large stock pot. Mix together the 3 tablespoons flour and water in a small bowl. Slowly stir mixture into stew. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer until thickened stirring occasionally.
I made some biscuits to go with the stew last night, and I wondered, “What would happen if I added some left over cheddar cheese and some garlic?” Well, nothing except for some really good tasting biscuits! There’s just enough time to make these while the stew is thickening on the stove.
Cheddar Garlic Biscuits
2 cups flour
4 tsp. baking powder
2 Tbsp white sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
5 Tbs. Butter Flavor Crisco
1 cup milk
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
In a medium size mixing bowl add flour, baking powder, white sugar, salt and garlic powder. Stir together with a whisk. (Easier substitute for sifting.) Cut in Butter Flavor Crisco with a fork or pastry blender. (You could use plain Crisco, but the Butter Flavor really adds to the taste.) Add milk and stir until moistened. Stir in cheese. Dough is thick. You may have to knead the cheese in with your hands.
Drop by large spoonfuls on to a greased cookie sheet. Or line the sheet with parchment paper. The cheese will stick to the pan otherwise. You should end up with 8 to 10 good size biscuits.
Bake at 450 for 12 to 14 minutes.
I was going to make something really complicated and spectacular this week. Well, actually I did make something really complicated. It just didn’t come out too spectacular. It’s resting at the bottom of the trash bin now. So I give you plan B instead. Easy M&M Blondies. Simple, tasty and not taking up room at the local land fill.
M&M Blondie Recipe
1 cup margarine
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 (12 ounce) package M&M’s plain chocolate candies (optional)
1/2 cup crushed walnuts (optional)
From RecipeZaar
Directions
Cream butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla. Add in flour and soda – it makes a thick dough. Stir in M&Ms. Spread in a 13×9 pan. and bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.
The dough is really thick. It was easier to press it into the pan with my fingers than spread it with a spatula. I’d back down the cooking time. I only left them in for 30 minutes, and my blondies came out a little more brunette.
I found the recipe for these Hamburger Muffins on Kaboose.com. If you’re not familiar with Kaboose, head over and sign up for for their weekly emails. You’ll get all kinds of kid and family friendly food, craft and activity ideas.
These Hamburger Muffins were fun and easy to make with a few simple ingredients, and pretty cost effective too. They also happen to taste like yummy mini-meatloaves. My husband, who claims to not like meat loaf, liked these, and my son even had to grudgingly admit they were good.
Hamburger Muffin Recipe
3 tablespoons butter, softened
12 slices white bread
1-1/4 pounds ground beef
1 egg
1 small onion, chopped1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Cooking Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter one side of each slice of bread, and press each slice butter-side down into the cups of a muffin tin.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the ground beef, egg, onion, cream of mushroom soup, salt and pepper until well blended. Fill each bread cup with the mixture. Sprinkle shredded Cheddar cheese over the tops.
3. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until meat is cooked through.
Cookie of the Week is now Treat of the Week.
I got bored with just making cookies, so I decided to expand the possibilities. Now you might find anything from cakes, to pies to ice cream. Just as long as it’s sweet and yummy.
We are in the throws of winter here. The thermometer reads 10 below this morning, and everything is buried under almost three feet of snow. Everywhere you look it’s white, gray and brown.
This is the time of year when cabin fever starts to set in. Oh, how I long for those warm, sunny days of summer.
Fortunately I have little bit of summer tucked away in my freezer. Plump, juicy blueberries. Their bright flavor and color perks up any winter day.
First I was going to make blueberry scones. But then I remembered that our American biscuit is the cousin of the British scone. And I love biscuits. So I went in search of a blueberry biscuit recipe. Here’s the one I tried.
Blueberry Biscuit Recipe
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon fresh grated lemon peel
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon soda
1/3 cup shortening
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup unthawed frozen blueberries (keep frozen right up until adding to dough)
Topping:
3 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
dash ground nutmeg
Mix 2 cups of the flour with the sugar, baking powder, lemon peel, salt, and soda in a large bowl. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix egg and buttermilk, then stir into the flour mixture. Stir in the frozen blueberries. Sprinkle remaining flour on the counter top. Scrape dough out onto the flour; flour fingers and gently knead 6 or 7 times, just until dough begins to hold together. Pat dough into a rectangle or round 1/2-inch thick. Cut out rounds with a floured 2-inch cutter or glass. Place biscuits 2 inches apart on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake in center of a preheated 400° oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Combine topping ingredients and brush over the warm biscuits.
From Southern Food
These were so good! They didn’t raise as much as a regular biscuit. I think all the juice in the blueberries might have interfered with the leavening. So they look more like a scone, but they’re a lot lighter and more moist than a scone. And the cinnamon and sugar topping adds just the right touch. Warm out of the oven with a little butter, Oh, yum! These are even better than blueberry muffins if you ask me.
There’s only one change I’d make to the recipe. The dough was really sticky because of the blueberries. It calls for these to be rolled and cut. But the batter consistency really was more drop biscuit dough. I think making these as drop biscuits might help them raise a little more.
Rolled or of dropped, try these out. I don’ t think you’ll be disappointed.
We’ve been socked in by a deep freeze. It’s – 3 outside right now. And last night I wanted to cozy up to some hot, hearty soup.
I started out with one cheese soup recipe, and ended making so many changes to it based on the ingredients I had on hand, that it turned in to a whole new dish.
Here’s what I ended up with:
Cheesy Potato Soup Recipe
1/4 C. butter or margarine
1/4 C. plus 2 TSP of flour
2 10 3/4 ounce cans plus one 1/4 C. of chicken broth
2 C. milk
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
4 TBS horseradish from a jar
2 C shredded cheddar cheese
4 medium potatoes
Peel and cut up potatoes in to chunks. Boil until fork tender. In a heavy bottomed pot melt butter over low heat. Add flour, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and let cool one minute. Gradually whisk in broth and milk. Return to burner over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened and bubbly. Stir in pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and horseradish. Add boiled and drained potatoes. Stir frequently until heated through. Take off heat and add cheese. Stir until melted. Serve immediately.
This turned out creamy, tangy and delicious. It was filling and just the thing to warm me up on a frosty night. I served it with biscuits to mop up all that yummy cheese left in the bottom of the soup bowl.
