Archive for the 'recipes' Category
June 30th, 2008 - Yogurt Spinach Dip
Based on Yogurt Spinach Dip at AllRecipes.
I have a lot of spinach–my own plus the CSA. Luckily we’re getting the CSA because I don’t have much. But still, too much of that plus other greens to keep up with even when eating 5+ salads a week. It doesn’t help that Maggie won’t eat salad this month. Looked up dip recipes online, knowing there are some great ones with artichokes. But I’d have to buy artichokes, so I looked for and found one that was just spinach. I adapted it a bit, mainly because I forgot I was cutting it in half and used the full amount of spinach. Came out just fine regardless.
Yogurt Spinach Dip
* 1 cup chopped fresh spinach
* 1/2 cup plain yogurt
* 1/2 cup mayonnaise
* 1/2-3/4 teaspoons seasoning salt (1 tsp was too salty)
* 1/8 teaspoon dried parsley (or more fresh)
* 1/8 teaspoon dried basil (or more fresh)
* 1/8 teaspoon dried oregano (or more fresh)
* fresh garlic (I used one garlic scape)
Lovely chip dip as well as salad dressing. I should make it without the spinach as a dressing. Unfortunately, Maggie who loves dips must have been put off by the spinach as she wouldn’t touch it except if prodded. She preferred to eat her chips plain.
December 5th, 2007 - Apple Crumb “Pie”
If only I had posted this recipe last year, I wouldn’t have spent 20 minutes searching all over for it Saturday! After going through my 2″ pile of printed out recipes twice, the 3-ring binder twice, and checking online (both this blog and a web search), I went back to the recipe shelf and found two sheets had fallen behind the books. This was one of them.
Apple Crumb Pie–really, it’s just apple crisp in a pie pan
apples and/or applesauce
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 c sugar
1/3 c flour
1/6 c butter
Cut up apples and/or put applesauce into pie pans. Sprinkle cinnamon on top and stir. Be careful–cinnamon flies up easily! Mix sugar and flour and cut in butter until it resembles course crumbs. (Alternatively, use food processor.) Sprinkle on top of apples. Bake 400 degrees for 40-50 minutes, until crust has browned. Put a cookie sheet below to catch drips.
Warning: If using convection bake, move them around or you will burn the back ones. (Good thing I intended to keep 2 of the pies, since that’s how many burned a bit.) I filled the oven with 7 pies and it still took about 45 minutes for them to cook since it was so full.
Chunky sauce works better than smooth, but it really doesn’t matter. I don’t think this would work well with store bought sauce, but haven’t a clue since I don’t buy it anymore. I just used the sauce straight from the steam juicer. My notes indicate that 1 pint of sauce works well, but I think that might be on the light side.
I start with the apples/sauce and figure out how many pies I have, then make the topping for all of them. Last year, I said that 1/2 the topping was plenty, but it didn’t seem that way this year and I ended up making a second batch. I think it could have used even more!
Be sure to pile up the apples–they really sink during baking. The sauce doesn’t sink much, however. If you use tart apples, you might also put 1/4 c sugar in with them (original recipe did).
My Grandma Frost’s recipe for apple crisp also uses nutmeg (1/4 tsp), lemon juice (1 tsp), and water (if necessary) for one pie. Her topping is 3/4 c flour, 1 c sugar, and 1/2 c butter. Bake 375 for 1 hour. Fits in 8×8 pan or double for 9×13.
You can also freeze this without baking. If you don’t have extra pie tins, put foil down first, and remove pie from plate after it freezes. Baking the frozen pie takes 45-60 minutes. I also freeze it after baking (for donating to church). I made them for the bake sale, but due to the expected bad weather (which didn’t materialize Sunday morning anyway), I didn’t go to church. So I put them in the freezer and will put them in the Neighbor to Neighbor freezer instead. (Meals are given to folks with new kids, illness, death, etc., in the family.)
I like the pie pan size, as I can make a lot of it all at once. And, since I thought Eric didn’t like it, it’s a better size for a dessert that only Maggie and I eat. Turns out he likes it, too! I buy pie tins cheap throughout the year at thrift stores, for no more than 0.25 so have plenty of them around.
I got the original recipe from Preserving the Harvest. They suggest using peaches or peaches + blackberries as well.
September 30th, 2007 - Benedict Bars recipe
adapted from a recipe for Special K Bars from the College of St. Benedict (hence the name), my absolute all-time favorite food from the college cafeteria. They are pretty unhealthy, so I adapted to be a bit healthier, using as little sugar and syrup as possible.
3/4 c white sugar
3/4 c corn syrup
Stir together nd bring to a boil using medium heat. Doesn’t take long. Remove immediately and stir in
1 c peanut butter
Grease 9×13 pan. Put in
8 c cereal such as Special K, puffed cereal, Cheerios, etc.
Pour syrup over and mix with a spoon. Appears impossible but it isn’t! After well-mixed, spread flat with hand in waxed paper (or cereal bag).
Melt in microwave 1.5 - 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds
11 oz chocolate and butterscotch chips (I like more choc than b’scotch)
Spread over bars and let cool. Cut and enjoy!
To make a better tasting batch, use 1 cup each sugar and syrup and 16 ounces of chips. I like to use Kashi’s puffed cereal, adding to the health side of the equation. I don’t like chunky pb, so I always use creamy. My latest pb, however, is freshly ground so it’s not quite smooth. I’m not sure what that will do to the recipe as I haven’t made it since using this pb. But now I want to. Need to buy some Special K or similar cereal first. Time to hit the Bargain Bin! It’s fine to use slightly stale cereal for this, I think.
September 30th, 2007 - Granola recipe
Haven’t made this in a while, but after losing the salsa recipe, I want to be sure to get my favorite recipes in here! I’ve only not made it because of being sick so much. Which, by the way, I am again. I don’t know if it’s a cold, allergies, or bronchitis again. I feel better if I don’t talk at all. :(
Mom made granola when I was a kid. I’m not sure if I used info from her recipe in this one, but surely I did? I loved granola as a kid, but my recollection is that it was expensive to make, which I don’t understand. It seems pretty cheap to me but I haven’t actually priced it out.
Granola, adapted from Alton Brown Good Eats
Put in a 9×13 pan
3 cups oatmeal and other flaked grains
1-2 cups nuts and seeds
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/4 c sesame seeds and/or flax seeds
pinch of salt (unless nuts/seeds were salted)
Toss to mix well, using your hand. Pour on top
1/4 cup vegetable oil
<3 Tbsp molasses (scant 1/3c for 2x)
>3 Tbsp honey (scant 1/3c for 2x)
Mix well using your hand. Hands work far better than a spoon for this.
250 oven for 1 hour 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes and moving around the overn. Add dry fruit when cool.
Notes: 2x or 3x fits in 2 pans. I’m pretty loose on the dry ingredients, going for generally 5-7 cups. Maggie can’t have tree nuts, so I skip the nuts when she’s to eat it. Same for sesame. I use flax seeds only because we bought some accidentally. If I don’t have sunflower seeds, nuts/seeds are skipped. I’ve used a number of different flaked/rolled grains. The barley was a bit chewy so I’d only use 1/2c of it. If you like chunky granola, use less dry and more wet. I do, but I prefer to keep the oil and sugars down so I don’t worry about it. It won’t be dry when it’s done cooking. If you don’t stir it right away and wait for it to be cool, it may stay chunkier. I add all sorts of dried fruit, basically whatever I have on hand. I like lots of fruits, but they are expensive so I usually don’t have as much as would be nice. I also have added dried orange for a lovely cranberry-orange and walnut-orange. Dried orange peel would also work.
September 26th, 2007 - Laurie’s Salsa recipe
7# peeled Roma tomatoes (I don’t peel mine and use whatever I have)
2 large onions
4 large peppers (colorful ones are nice)
10 jalepenos (I made a mild salsa by skipping these.)
2 Poblanos
1 box of garlic (I use 2 bulbs or so, depending on size)
3 stalks of celery (I skip because Eric hates celery)
1 Tbsp dried cilantro – or chop some fresh
¾ cup white vinegar
¾ cup apple cider vinegar
4 Tbsp canning salt
4 Tbsp sugar
Simmer for 3 – 4 hours (until foaming). Makes 12 pints. It’s okay to can it; follow directions from a canning book for other salsas. (I overcooked it when I did it over 3 hours once. Be careful about canning if you make modifications to the basic recipe.)
Laurie’s comment via Krysa: Yes she cans her salsa - she says it takes about 4 hours of cooking, she usually does a double batch (cause if she’s taking the time to do it, she’s going to do it!) and to make sure that it says sharp after cooking and sitting she leaves the seeds in three of the jalapenos. Plus she uses a food processor to help her chop all the vegetables.
*****
I was going to make salsa last Saturday. But I can’t find my recipe card back! Luckily, Laurie is the friend of a friend, and Krysa was able to get it for me again on Monday. I sure wish I’d gotten it into here the previous weekend when I meant to. I’ve search the entire recipe box and much of the kitchen to no avail. It had good notes about what we’ve tried.
September 15th, 2007 - Italian Sauce recipe
adapted from Mary Ann Paulukonis (my Mom) adapted from Mangiamo by Silvia Sebastiani. My adaptations are *.
1 lb ground beef (optional)
4 Tbsp olive oil (I use about 2*)
4 stalks celery, chopped (I skip this)
4 onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1 cup shredded carrots and/or zucchini (helps cut acidity)*
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp rosemary
½ C parsley, chopped fine
1 C mushrooms, chopped
1 gallon canned tomatoes w/ liquid (about 20 fresh)
1 or more 8 oz cans tomato paste (I use 4, but we like really thick sauce)
1 C white wine (optional) (I skip this)
salt (1 tsp*), pepper (8 twists*) to taste
sugar to taste (I’ve used up to 2 T when using less carrots)*
If using meat, brown in olive oil. Add celery, onions, garlic to meat or to hot olive oil; saute until tender and brown. Add spices, mushrooms, tomatoes (broken up), veggies, and wine. Cook at least 3 hr over low heat, stirring occasionally. Add tomato paste as needed to thicken. Makes about 9 quarts for freezing. Do not know if it is suitable for canning.
Note to self: Double recipe is hard to saute in skillet. Consider wok. Double recipes fits perfectly in stock pot.