Cooking with Onions

17 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by in A-Z, onions, yummy stuff

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The three type of big onions are red, white, and yellow.
Yellow is best for cooking.
Red and white are best raw.

Bunching onions are also known as green onions.
You can buy and grow bunching onions.
Or, you can pull regular onions when they are small.

There is also an onion called the winter onion.
The winter onion grows in bunches and is a perennial.
They come up and seeds grow up at the top and if you leave them, they will drop the seed for the next growing season.
These onions can be eating fresh or cooked and are smaller in size than bulb onions.
The later in the season they are, the tougher they are so that is something to keep in mind if you do buy or grow them.

If you do have a garden and grow onions, any onions that have been grown the year before may start to sprout after several months.
You can replant those for more onions.
They will grow and bulb.

Chicken and noodles

15 Monday Apr 2013

Posted by in A-Z, chicken and noodles, noodles, yummy stuff

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Chicken and noodles is that ultimate comfort food. The best part is that you can do it as simple or as complicated as you would like.

You will need a 4 to 5 quart pan with lid.

Ingredients:

2 to 3 cups chopped cooked chicken, preferably dark meat
About 3 quarts chicken broth, homemade OR store bought
1 batch of homemade noodles OR 1 pound of dried store bought noodles.

If you are making your chicken and broth from scratch, add some chicken to your pot and cover with water. A good choice is the hindquarters. 2 or 3, depending on size.
Season the water heavily with salt, pepper, garlic powder and parsley.
Bring to a boil.
Cover and reduce the heat until the water is at a simmer and cook for a couple hours.
Remove the chicken from the broth.
Let cool. Bone, skin, and chop.
Set aside.
Heat the broth up to a rolling boil.
Slowly stir the noodles into the broth and let it boil for a few minutes for fresh noodles or follow package directions for store bought.
Stir every once in a while so the noodles don’t clump
Add the chicken the the noodles and lower heat and let thicken, stirring occasionally.
Serve.

This will serve 6-8.

Meat Shell Potato Pie

15 Monday Apr 2013

Posted by in A-Z, meat shell potato pie, yummy stuff

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This is a favorite for my husband and I. It is very filling and hearty with a variety of flavors.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit/175 Celsius
You will need a 9″ pie plate.

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef
1(10.75 oz) can condensed cream of mushroom soup, divided
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 egg
1/4 cup flax meal OR dry bread crumbs
1 Tablespoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon salt
sprinkle of pepper
2 cups mashed potatoes
4 pieces of bacon
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, 1/2 cup of the condensed soup, onion, egg, flax OR bread crumbs, parsley, salt, and pepper.
Mix together well.
Press into the bottom and sides of the pie plate.
Bake for 25 minutes.
You may want to check on it a few times and if the meat is starting to slip down the sides, press it back up with the back of a large spoon.
After 25 minutes, take it out and drain. I find the best way to do this is to lay paper towels over the meat shell and let it absorb the fat.
While the meat shell is baking, make your mashed potatoes.
Mix the mashed potatoes with the rest of the condensed soup.
Set aside.
Cook and drain the bacon. Crumble.
After you have drained the meat shell, fill with the mashed potato mixture.
Sprinkle with bacon and cheese.
Bake for another 15 minutes.
Let stand a few minutes before serving.
Cut into wedges.

Serves 6.

Lemon Bundt Cake

13 Saturday Apr 2013

Posted by in A-Z, lemon, lemon bundt cake, yummy stuff

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This cake is not overly lemony, but it has a glaze that really gives it a big shot of lemon flavor.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour a bundt or tube pan.

Ingredients:

1 cup softened butter or margarine
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
1-1/2 teaspoons lemon extract
1-1/2 vanilla extract
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt- if using salted butter or margarine do not use
1 cup milk
1 Tablespoon grated lemon peel- optional

Glaze:
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 Tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
3/4 cup granulated sugar

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
Cream the butter and sugar. Add eggs, beating one egg in completely before adding the next one. Mix in the extracts.
Add the milk and the flour mixture alternately beginning and ending with the milk. Stir in the lemon peel, if you are using.
Pour into the prepared pan.
Bake for 60-70 minutes til it tests done with a toothpick inserted near the center.
Cool for 10 minutes. Invert pan onto a wire rack for 10 more minutes.
Put waxed paper or foil underneath rack to catch extra glaze.Let the cake cool slightly.
Combine glaze ingredients.
Drizzle over the warm cake with a spoon.
OR If you have a pastry brush, I recommend you brush the glaze on the cake.
More will stay on the cake instead of ending up on the waxed paper.
Serves 12-16.


Cooking with Kosher Salt

12 Friday Apr 2013

Posted by in A-Z, kosher salt, yummy stuff

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Kosher salt is, well, kosher.
But, so is table salt.

Kosher salt is called kosher salt due to it’s ability to draw blood to the surface of meats in a kosher way.
Kosher salt is also a larger, coarser grain than table salt.
It has no anti-caking additives or iodine added.

Kosher salt and table salt may be used in place of each other, but do not use equal amounts.
You would use more kosher in place of table salt.
If you are using table salt instead of kosher use less.

There is a slight difference in flavor.
Table salt is a bit sharper.

I like to cook with kosher salt.
It just brings a different depth to the dish.

Many of the seasoning rubs I make have kosher salt in them.
A couple that I have on this site are creole rub and sazon.

Kosher salt may or may not be sea salt.
Sea salt comes strictly for evaporated sea water.
Kosher salt may come from evaporated sea water or it may come from salt mines.

Freezing Jalapenos

11 Thursday Apr 2013

Posted by in A-Z, yummy stuff

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This will also work for any kind of pepper.

Wash them, dry them, stick them in a freezer bag and put in the freezer.

You don’t need to cut them in half or even stem them.

For larger peppers, you may want to cut in half or strips and seed them to save on space.

But for small peppers, there is no need.

Icing

10 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by in A-Z, icing, yummy stuff

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There are two ways to coat your baked goods.
You can use frosting or you can use icing.

For a recipe for homemade frosting, you can go here.

The difference between icing and frosting is that frosting is more creamy and thick.
It needs to be spread with a knife.

Icing is translucent and is fairly thin.
It is made to be drizzled over whatever you make.

Icing is very simple.

Two, maybe three ingredients and that is it.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup powdered sugar
about a Tablespoon milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional

Mix it all together in a small bowl and drizzle over whatever you made.
If it seems to thick add a little more milk until you can drizzle it from a spoon.

This will make enough to drizzle over a quick bread or some breakfast biscuits.
If you want to do a bundt cake or cinnamon rolls, you may need to double the recipe.

If you don’t use it right away, the top may form a crust.
If a crust does form, just stir it and it will be fine.

Herbed Pasta with Tomatoes

09 Tuesday Apr 2013

Posted by in A-Z, herbed pasta, herbed pasta with tomatoes, herbs, pasta, tomatoes, yummy stuff

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This is a very simple dish that is great when you have fresh tomatoes and herbs. It can be ready in about 15 minutes.

Ingredients:

1 cup pasta- your choice of shape
water for cooking

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 or 3 Tablespoons fresh chopped basil
2 or 3 Tablespoons of fresh chopped oregano
1 Tablespoon fresh chopped parsley
1 small to medium size tomato, chopped
Sprinkling of salt and pepper to taste

Salt and heat the water to boiling.
Add the pasta and cook to package directions.
Drain.
Add the pasta back to the pan and add the olive oil, herbs, salt/pepper and chopped tomato.
Toss.
Serve.

Enough for 4 good size servings.

Vary your herbs for a different flavor.

Growing a Garden

08 Monday Apr 2013

Posted by in A-Z, garden, yummy stuff

≈ 8 Comments

For me, having a garden and cooking go hand in hand.
There is nothing like going out to the garden to pick things out for supper.

Even people with little or no room can container garden.

If you want to grow herbs, you can grow an assortment in one pot.
They are pretty easy to grow too.

Herbs will give your foods so much flavor.
You can change the flavor of a dish just by using different seasonings/herbs.

You can freeze or dry herbs for using later on.

You can grow all kinds of vegetables in containers.
The vining ones you may have to stick a trellis in the pot for the plant to grow up.
You can even grow potatoes in a pot.

You can can, freeze, or give away what you can’t use fresh.

It is so nice to be able to reach into your freezer or pantry and take out what you need to make a meal.
One thing I make every year is my chunky salsa.
It is great for using in quick meals or just snacking on with chips.

 I know a gardening post on a cooking blog doesn’t seem right.
But, to cook, we must have food.
And this is where the best food comes from.

Fats and Substitutions

06 Saturday Apr 2013

Posted by in A-Z, butter, coconut oil, fats, olive oil, yummy stuff

≈ 4 Comments

I am not one for subbing fat with fat free or lower fat.
But, there are exceptions.

Our bodies need  a certain amount of fat to function well.
Our brain needs it.
Our cells need it.

There are fat soluble vitamins that need fat to help them do their job.
The ones that need fat are A,D, E, and K.
CoQ10 and lycopene are also fat soluble.
This is why it is best to have some fat in your salad dressings when you do eat salad.
The fat will help the nutrients absorb into your body better.

One reason that I may substitute a fat with something else is if there is some nutritional benefit.

Fruits and vegetable purees are good because of nutrients and fiber.
The general rule for fruit puree such as pear or apple is to use half the amount of puree that the recipe calls for in fat.
If you are using squash or pumpkin, you will want to use 3/4 of the stated amount of fat.

I have recently tried using avocado and that works. Some people recommend only using half the amount in avocado and half the amount in butter. Others say to use all.
I used all.
The texture was good.
The taste was a little different than with butter.
It also settled after a day and  the difference in the taste was less noticeable.
It idn’t taste like avocado.
Just different than when using butter.
I really think it would complement the taste of anything peanut butter.

No matter what you use, the taste will be slightly different.
Even butter from brand to brand can change the taste a little.

I do find that when making quick breads or muffins that olive oil is a great choice.
It just seems lighter.

Coconut oil, when using the virgin organic that is unrefined and not made using hexane, is a good choice. It compliments the taste of chocolate. It is also high in lauric acid which does a body good.

I also use butter, which is great in it’s own way.