Lima Bean Soup

What a crazy day yesterday was!  It started as a cleaning the house day / watching the kiddo’s day,  turning into me helping my friend get to ER, serve seven people for dinner and go to a late night movie.  One might think that these were just normal events of a Friday. Actually, I do too, but I did not get a nap until sitting in the theater which was not why I paid $ 8.50.  After finally getting a little snooze, I achieved enjoying the new James Bond film.

Put in a crockpot: 1 bag of lima beans, 2 bay leaves, 2 beef bouillon cubes and salt. Add required amount of water suggested on the bag of beans.  Cook on high for 4 hours.  

Add:  2 large chopped carrots and chopped celery. Cook on high 4 more hours. 

Add: 1 large potato cut very small. 

Take out bay leaves.

Use stab mixer in the crockpot chopping up all beans and vegetables.

In a frying pan place: olive oil, 1 large chopped onion and garlic.  Sauté until tender.  Add: small slices of 1 green apple, sauté until tender.  Add: Curry (about a tablespoon)  and 1/8 cup of flour, brown.

Combine frying pan contents with crockpot, chop with stab mixer.

When serving add a small amount fenugreek to each bowl of soup.  

Enjoy.

The Perfect BBQ

This summer our family made friends with a butchers son.  Other than Rich always offering to cook brats every time we  get together, which is a huge bonus, he has taught us how to properly grill our meat revolutionizing my BBQing skills.  From what I can see most people cook their meal on a grill that is way too hot, cooking the meat too fast, and burning the outside.  Not so Rich, his Weber grill contains a small pile of charcoal, which are not used for cooking until they are a gray white color.  When he puts his meat on the grill, he does not place it directly over the coals like a normal untrained cook.  He places them on the outer edge of the grate and puts the cover on to slow cook the brats.  Where most people cook there meat in 10 to 15 minutes, Rich takes over an hour to an hour and a half.  Slow cooking is the name of the game, but is worth it when biting into his BBQ goodness.

Being a cook myself, I decided to take Riches skills and add a bit of Dorothy.  Now I use about a third of the charcoal when I BBQ.  I am patient and allow ALL of the coals to turn white.  Previously, I would rush the meal making it taste like lighter fluid.  Now I cover the grate with thick alumni foil and place my meat on the it before it goes on the grill.  I remove the foil before the end of cooking to give my meal a BBQ appearance.  Before placing the grate on the grill I chuck in a handfull of smoke chips over the coals and place the grate on top closing the grill.  (Note: I put the meat on the grate before it is on the grill because the smoke in my eyes really hurts,  I want to cover the grill as soon as the grate is in place.)  It is important to make sure that the vents are not open all the way, too hot of a fire will burn up the charcoal too fast and burn your dinner.

Pumpkin Pudding

One thing that I cannot understand is why my fingers beg me daily to write and yet, at the same time, my mind is blank of anything worthy of writing. Communicating with my friends via Skype and Facebook gives my fingers a constant platform for complaining about under use.  

Every morning I  check my facebook and Skype to see if there is anyone in Europe is on to talk to.  Most days, I wake up way too early for my American friends and family leaving me plenty of time to chat with my Eruo-family. Usually, the first person for me to speak to each morning lives 6,000 miles from my front door, my great Slovenian friend Darja.  Normally we chat about what’s going on at that moment or what took place since we last chatted, like less than twenty-four hours earlier.  No matter what the conversation is my fingers start singing each time they tap on the keyboard, “Write something. Anything, just start writing again!”

Starting small is a great place so I have two for the price of one recipes:  Beef and Bacon Sloppy Joe’s and Pumpkin Pudding.

Beef and Bacon Sloppy Joe’s

Brown one pound of ground burger in a big pot.  Add 1/4 pound of cut into small pieces bacon, 1 chopped onion, 1 chopped green pepper, 2 chopped cloves of garlic, 1 small cubed large tomato cooking until the vegies are tender and the bacon is half way cooked.  Add: 1 cup + Ketchup, 1/4 cup mustard, 3 tablespoons of honey, 10 shakes of Soy Sauce, 1 teaspoon red peppers, salt and 1/2 cup of brown sugar. Cook for about 10 min, stirring occasionally.

Put a lid on the pot and place it in a 375 pre-heated oven.  Cook for an hour to hour in a half.  

Serve on burger bun.

Pumpkin Pudding

In a  pan place equal parts pumpkin (small can), milk, and coconut milk. Add: 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon clove, 1 tablespoon ginger, and 1 teaspoon pie spice.  Stir in 4 eggs and a 1/2 cup brown sugar.   Cook until it starts to boil.  

Place in a 350 pre-heated oven, cook for about an hour or until thickens.

In a frying pan add: 2 tablespoons of butter, 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, and 1/4 cup brown sugar.  Heat until nuts are candied coated.

Sprinkle over the pumpkin pudding and serve.

Cold Tuna Salad on a Bed of Salad

Driving through my neighborhood, I quickly notices dead brown grass where normally a lush green carpet should stand.  The large trees in front of Kelloggsville high school  leaves have formed a brown carpet on the lawn, instead their normal umbrella which provides shade to any passer by.  How strange it is to smell Fall in July, instead of the fresh summer sent of grass clippings. This summer is a real scorcher with temps reaching as high as 103 degrees.  

This hot summer reminds me of my younger days as a kid.  In those days, it was an exception to the rule for a home to have central air.  A family really felt fortunate to have at least one window unit cooling one room of the house.  In our home, the family room was the chosen cooled room.  Our kids rooms left us so hot, that we often slept in our underpants on top of the sheets, where we dreamt of the mercury in thermometers raising so high that the top of would break off into a million pieces.

Yesterday, my motivation to cook a hot meal disappeared as abnormal  temperatures rose robbing me of my normal appetite.  Knowing that I needed to cook, or at least prepare a meal, I decided to play “What’s in the Cupboard.”  Finding a can of tuna, I threw together a cold tuna salad on a bed of Romaine lettuce with a squeeze of lemon juice.

Cold Tuna Salad on a Bed of Salad

In a bowl, place one can of tuna, 1/2 chopped small onion, 1/2 green pepper, 1  chopped carrot, 1/2 cup raisins, 1/4 mayo, 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, salt and pepper.  Mix well.

Chop Romaine lettuce up and place on a plate.  Put some tuna salad in the middle of the lettuce pile.  Squeeze 1/4 of a lemon over the top and mix.  Enjoy!

Two For One

For weeks I’ve cooked dinner and thought about writing my food blog “Imagine the Food.” One such day I looked at Brian and said, “You know, I really need to get back to writing my blog.”  

As always he piped in, “What blog?  You’ve not written on it in months.”

Last night, after eating Quick and Taste Red Spaghetti dinner,  the pangs of writing started to stir deep inside of me as my mind dreamed of my fingers tap tap tapping on the keyboard. I heard my blog call my name, as it begged me to feed it’s daily need for recipe offerings.   In the past I desired to write a cook book that encouraging people to cook healthy food on a tight budget. Now it was time to returned to my old friend “Imagine the Food” and renew our culinary relationship.

  

Todays offering is a two for one: Quick and Tasty Red Spaghetti and Meatballs and Cream Spinach.  Both are Rabourn family tested and approved for the net.

 Quick and Tasty Red Spaghetti

1 lb ground burger browned

In a frying pan, place 1 tbsp butter, let it melt.  Add: slice small summer squash, 1 chopped onion, 2 chopped cloves of garlic, and 1 dice small green pepper.  Cook until lightly browned.  Do not stir too often.  

On top of veggies, add the browned burger, 2 sm cans of tomato sauce, 1 sm can tomato paste, 2 bay leaves, 1 cup red wine, 1 tbsp basil, 1tsp Italian spices, small shake of cinnamon, and 1 tbsp sugar.  Mix into veggies and let simmer on low for about 15 min covered.

Place over any type of noodle that you choose.  Enjoy!

Meatballs and Cream Spinach 

Meatballs:

In a bowl, place 1 lb of ground burger.  Add 1 cup oatmeal (chopped fine in food- processor), and one egg.  Mix well.

Chop fine: 1/2 onion, 1/2 green pepper and 2 cloves of garlic.  Mix thoroughly into the the meat mixture adding a 1/2 tsp of salt.

In a frying pan, heat up some cooking oil.  ( barley cover the bottom of the pan)

In a bowl, add: 1/2 flour, salt and sesame seeds.

Make meat balls out of the meat mixture, roll them into the flour mixture and place them into the heated oil to cook.  Cook until all the sides of the ball are browned.  Take out of the pan placing them on a plate with paper towel to absorb the extra oil.

Spinach Sauce:

Melt 1 tbsp of butter in a sauce pan. Add: 1 chopped red onion, 3 chopped cloves of garlic and 1 tsp of salt.  Cook until tender.  Add 3 tbsp flour and brown.  Add 3 cups of water and stir until all of the flour is blended in.  Add: 1 package of thawed frozen spinach, 1 cup Parisian cheese and 1/2 cup of milk.  Stir until  completely mixed together.  

Serve spinach sauce in a bowl with some gnocchi (about 10).  Cut up meat ball, 3 or 4 and place on top.  

Tuna Noodle Salad with a Pineapple Twist

Summer

waking up before the birds

sun takes its mark in the eastern sky

morning air awakens scenes

days trumpet call 

body marching to a different drum

waking up earlier and earlier

a glowing ball of fire

extends waking hours

supercharged by 

natures power 

Tuna Noodle Salad with a Pineapple Twist

Cook one box of noodles (any shape)

In a bowl: 1 can tuna, 1 chopped yellow pepper, 3 chopped carrots, 2 chopped celery stalks, 1 chopped onion, and 1 can pineapple cut pieces small.  

Sauce: 1 cup mayo, curry paste or curry powder, salt and pepper.  (add a bit of sugar if you’d like it sweet)    Mix into tuna and vegetable. Add noodles and mix thoroughly. 

Make at least 4 hours before serving.

Honey Sweet Beef (Maybe I could have called it Sweat Beef)

Summer is my favorite season of the year (except for about two weeks of sauna-hot temps).  Last year’s steamy hot days left us lethargic, sticky, and desperate for a comfortable night’s sleep.  We found ourselves longing for cooler temperatures where real PJ’s and a light blanket are required.  Instead of comfort, I found myself laying in bed without any covers, dressed in my favorite boxers and tank top, doing the backstroke in the puddle of sweat, and hoping that the fan blowing directly on my body would cool me off as the perspiration evaporated. 

As of yesterday, we can wear long sleeved shirts in our home, even though it is 90 degrees out, and the humidity is so high that while looking out our window you need to pinch a tender piece of flesh to alert your scenes to the fact that the haze outside is not a bad dream.  The nightmare is finally over; we’ve got central air in our home.  Goodbye to loud fans blowing throughout the day and night, creating a hot windstorm that never really causes a cool breeze through the home, a hot breeze that your brain tries to make you believe is better than no fan at all.  Gone are the blinds drawn down to create a dark cave effect, futilely attempting to simulate cave-coolness, hiding the green grass, trees and colorful petunias, snap-dragons, lilies and a host of seasonal beauties growing in front of the house.  Now I can appreciate my all of my spring labor in the rich fertile earth.  

Now I can celebrate summer, enjoy being able to see my fish staring out of the non-fogged glass tank.  I can gaze out my front window on summer’s beauty protected by my 74 degree controlled environment.

Honey Sweet Beef (Maybe I could have called it Sweat Beef)

Place 1 or 2 pounds of stew mean into a crock pot.  Add two cups of water, marjoram, 10 shakes of Worcestershire sauce, and salt, cook on high until the meat starts to pull apart easily with a fork.

Add: 4 cut carrots, 1 zucchini, 1 yellow pepper, 2 stalks of celery, 1 chopped onion, 2 cloves of chopped garlic, 2 cups of BBQ sauce, and1/8 honey. Cook on high for 2 hours stirring occasionally.

Add: 3 tablespoons of flower stirring while adding to prevent lumps. Turn down to medium for about 1 hour.

Serve over gnocchi or rice

For a zip add cayenne pepper to taste.

Ug Baked Chicken with BBQ Sauce

Today I was in the mood for some chicken and baked potatoes.  Fortunately, a week ago,  I went The Big Top, a grocery story which is not one of my normal shopping stops, and bought a bag of chicken legs to cook for dinner.  For one reason or another I did not cook them that evening and froze them until another day.  Let me say that this is the first and the last bag of chicken I will every buy from that store ever in my life!  

This morning I placed the legs in a pan, shook salt and pepper on them and left them to bake for the next hour and a half. About forty-five minutes into the baking, I spooned my favorite BBQ  sauce over each leg and continued baking for another forty-five min.  While the chicken and baked potatoes where baking, my home filled with a wonderful aroma, causing my stomach to do cart-wheels in anticipation of the up-coming eating event.  At this point, I must add that normally I buy a very high grade chicken from a butcher shop.  I love their meat and in particular their chicken, which they do not add any water to and is always fresh and tasty.  Back to the Big Top, after pulling the chicken out of the baking pan, there was over an inch of water on the bottom. I felt that the extra water was quite strange due to me not adding water in the first place.  In addition to the extra liquids, the chicken had a very odd taste ruining my meal completely and giving me an upset stomach for the rest of the day.

The moral of the story is never buy cheap meat.  If I can’t afford meat, a vegetarian meal is healthier than that cheap garbage from Big Top.

Quick and Easy Portobello Tortellini

Grand Rapids, Michigan is quickly heating up.  Our new home does not have air-conditioning. Brian and I hoped to get it installed before it got too unbearable, but spring decided to act like summer temperatures raising above 80 degrees foiling our plans to beat the heat with AC.

 Last summer it was so hot and humid outside that our fish tank looked like it was sitting in a bathroom with the shower turned on.  Our dogs and cats laid on the floor panting all day and most of the evening, and we were so hot that we did not even desire to read a book. My brother-in-Law Mike, who lives next door, said that every time he drove past our home he thanked God he did not live at our address; his home is much cooler inside, he had air. Not desiring to see a replay of last year, Brian and I decided to tighten the belt, deny ourselves a vacation and buy the much need unit.  

Yesterday, the weather got quite warm and motivation to cook almost disappeared.  Knowing that we are trying to eat in as much as possible; even though Russo’s pizza called my name, actually, it was Brian chanting “Pizza, pizza...” I set out to make a quick meal.  Opening the refrigerator I surveyed its contents.  The portobello mushrooms that I bought the day before started singing, “Eat me, eat me, we will make the perfect meal.”  Not desiring to offend my fungal friends, I picked them up and started creating.  After melting a healthy amount of butter to cook them in I browned them and tossed in some chopped red onion and garlic, and some salt.  In the end, I placed the mushrooms over tortellini, poured olive oil over the top and sprinkled both plates with parmesan cheese.  Brian decided to add some dried red peppers for a bit of zip. 

After eating, we looked at each other and exclaimed how please we were to stay in and eat and not spend money at a restaurant.  

Portobello Tortellini

Melt 2 Tbsp of butter in a pan.  (Do not use marjoram!)

Slice two portobello mushrooms and place them on the melted butter. Salt all the piece.

After mushrooms are brown, add chopped onion and 2 cloves of garlic.  You might need to add a bit more butter.

When onions and garlic are translucent and some a bit brown, place over tortellini, pour olive oil and parmesan cheese over the top.  

For someone who desires their meal to be a bit snappy, add either cayenne or dried red peppers.

Enjoy!

Mothers Day Picnic

My husband once heard a woman say, “Ladies, stop telling me that your house is not clean enough for a visit, and you do not have any food or drinks to serve me so you will not invite me to your home.  I’d rather sit in the corner of a dirty home, eating crackers and drinking water, than never be invited to someone’s home.”

Over twenty-five years ago, Brian heard this woman speak on the radio.  Ever since that day, we’ve tried to model our lives after her statement and have never regretted a moment of doing so.  I cannot tell you how many girlfriends visited my home, when my kids were young, having to push the clean laundry over a bit, in order to sit down on the couch; in the end, they often grabbed the towels and started folding. Yet these friends continued to come to my home weekly for good conversation and whatever food was served for lunch, be it peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, or leftover curry from the night before.  Having fun was never dictated by how clean my home was or how much money was in the bank.

Yesterday was no exception.  Brian and I live in a very cute, but small home. This year,  I desired to have all of the Rabourn family over to my home for Mother’s Day dinner.  Knowing that we live on a tight budget, I knew we couldn’t afford buying food for the entire family, but we could provide a nice back yard to picnic in.  Plan in mind, I text-ed the family, inviting them over for a family meal, and added on the bottom of my message, “What would you like to bring?”   I know our family did not mind lending a hand and making a dish to pass, getting together is more important than one person doing all the work.  I also understood that it is a Mother’s Day picnic, and no Rabourn man is willing to allow one of us girls to prepare all the food on a day that is meant to celebrate her.

Originally, I wanted to have grilled burgers or chicken, knowing that this main course was cost prohibitive I settled on Chicken BBQ (Sloppy Joes).  Mom Rabourn brought her famous pineapple upside down cake, Mike brought potato salad, Dan and Beth brought broccoli, Jim and Peg brought wonderful chocolate covered strawberries and a fruit and vegetable plate, and Ted and Rita brought beer and lemon aid.  

With the countertops covered with plates full of festive foods, beers or Margaritas in hand, and the perfect 70 degree sunny day, we were ready to relax and enjoy our picnic.  One of the best points of this Mother’s Day celebration was no television distractions, just the family sitting in a big circle telling stories and chatting.  A perfect way to celebrate.

Four and a half hours later, with jam packed bellies, family members start picking up the backyard, collecting their empty platters and bowls, in preparation for leaving.  Hugs given, and promises of the girls meeting on Thursday afternoon for coffee and lunch, cars drove away from what turned out to be a perfect Mother’s Day picnic.

Chicken BBQ

5 lbs chicken breasts place in a crock pot.  Add about 3 cups of water and let cook until the meat is falling apart.  

Drain excess liquid

Add: 1 chopped sweet pepper, 1 diced onion, 3 chopped cloves of garlic, 3 cups of ketchup, 1/2 mustard,1/3 soy sauce, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup honey, and a tablespoon of dried red peppers.  

Place in 375 oven for about an hour, stirring occasionally.

Serve on hamburger buns

BBQ Chicken Disaster

Yesterday, we had a reason to celebrate; a much awaited event took place in our lives:  the first festive occasion in months, and the first of the summer.   A real Rabourn festive occasion generally means a trip to Fridays, the local Chinese restaurant, a day off from school, or I cook something really yummy.  Since the sky was clear and the sun was shinning, a BBQ was in order.  Rita, Linda and I decided to run to the local grocery store and buy some chicken, potato salad (it was too late in the day to make my own) and vegetables for frying.  

When we arrived home it was already 6:45.  If you know anything about charcoal grills, you cannot put food over the coals until they are white, or your food will taste like lighter fluid, so I patiently awaited the coals, which dictated my cooking period; I think it took 15 or 20 minutes.  Finally, the grill was ready.  I placed the aluminum foil over the grate and laid the chicken on it to cook; in addition, I closed the vents to a quarter open to cut off the oxygen to stop any burst of flames.  Closing the lid, I walked into my home to cook the zucchini, peppers, onions and garlic side dish.  Every five or ten minutes I walked out and make sure that the chicken was not burning, and brushed on BBQ sauce for flavor.  At this point, at least, all was going smoothly.  

At about 7:45, Linda announced that she needed to go to bed in 15 minutes.  Panicked, I foolishly removed the aluminum foil from the grate and started the finishing process, caramelizing the sauce and giving the chicken the gilled look.  Let’s just say that I could have waited another 20 minutes.  My festive dinner turned into a frustrating disaster, as I ended up cooking the outside of the chicken too fast. Now that the foil was removed, I could not turn back time; there was a danger that the inside would not properly cook.

With the clock ticking, I grabbed a piece of meat off the grill for Linda and put it in the microwave to make sure it was not bloody inside.  (I hate cooking this way!)   Knowing Linda wakes up very early in the morning to make it to work by 6:30, I felt even more pressure to feed her and get her off to bed.  When she was almost done eating her (substandard) grilled chicken, ours was ready to eat. Slicing into mine I realized that it was still a bit pink by the bone.  I cannot ever eat any chicken that is pink or red. Now my piece needed to go into the microwave.    Anger at this meal threatened to burst out of me like a hidden volcano, but I “made me mind me” and deliberately calmed down.

Finally, we sat down to this epically frustrating meal, choosing to put a good face on it, to enjoy and relax.  As much as everyone else seemed pleased with dinner, I was too agitated, more or less losing my appetite.  I hate when a meal flops.

Lessons learned: 

First, Don’t cook attached thighs and legs on the grill, as the meat is thicker on the thigh than the leg and often creates a problem.  Cook cut thighs and legs.

Second, do not cook chicken on the grill if short on time. This meal will be a flop; chicken must be cooked slowly.  

Third, do not remove the foil early no matter what; this only cooks the outside quickly and leaves the inside raw.  

YUCK!

Meet the In-laws Omaka

Tonight Rita’s parents came over to meet us.  As always, it was my job to make a great meal to impress them and hopefully remove any tension.  Apparently, the food trick worked.  We ended up having a very enjoyable first get-together.  Thank God that Brian and Michael both worked in the automotive industry and were able to break the ice through talking business.  As for Rita’s mother and Ted, they both were like fading flowers in the sun slowly sipping into a half sleep half awake stage; Ted ended up leaving early, having to get to work by midnight tonight.  Shortly after his departure Felipa’s eyes could no longer stay open, she politely apologized for the early departure time and left.  Two and a half sips of wine later, I found myself sitting on the couch with Rita.  We both had a smile on our faces, and were thankful for the successful meeting.

Meet the In-laws Omaka

In a frying pan add 1 tbsp of butter, 1 pound of burger, and 1 pound of venison, cook until browned and drain the fat.  

Add: 3 or 4 cups of water, 2 bay leaves, 2 beef bouillon cubes, and 2 cilantro cubes, simmer.  

In a food processor add: 2 carrots, 1 zucchini, 1 onion, and 2 garlic cloves, process until they are chopped into small pieces.  Add to meat mixture.  

Add: 1 tsp marjoram, 1/2 tsp thyme, 1/2 tarragon, salt and pepper, 1 tsp Herb de Provence, and 1/2 tsp dried red peppers.  

Slowly sprinkle 1/2 cup of flower into the sauce stirring to make sure there are not any lumps.  

Simmer for about a 1/2 an hour, and then serve on rice.

Lentil Gravy Over Eggplant and Sweet Potatoes

For years my husband told my kids stories about when he first moved out of his parents home.  One such story completely grossed me out was about his dirty kitchen.  This kitchen was not just filled with dirty dishes; from what I understand many of the were growing with mold too. Yuck!  How could anyone even live this way?  Brian told the kids how he and his buddy would wash the dishes before eating each meal. From what I understand, they washed the plates and silverware as needed.

Once in a while, a girl trying to impress his room-mate, washed up all the dishes hoping to win him over and seal the deal. Silly girls, your kitchen cleaning skills were not good enough to win either guys hearts.  

Today, I am obsessed with keeping the kitchen clean as I cook.  It is easier to clean up a couple plates at the end of a meal, the to clean up all the pots, pans, and other cookware at the end. The other day, I told Rita what the true marks of a real cook are cooking clean.  No real cook can tolerate preparing a masterpiece is a dirty kitchen.

Sweet Potato French Fries and Egg Plant

Wash sweet potatoes and remove the skins.  Wash once more to make sure all the dirt is gone.  Slice potatoes lengthwise, lay flat on the table and make ¼ to ½ length wise slices, forming the fries.  Place all of the cut pieces into a large bowl; add olive oil, sea salt and rosemary seasoning or Italian seasoning.  Shake bowl so that all the pieces are covered with the mixture.  Now add Parmesan cheese and shake or mix again.  Lay flat on a cookie sheet and cook on 350. They cook at different rates, so check on them after 15 minutes to see it the bottom is golden brown.  When it is, turn and cook until the other side is finished. When done serve with Middle Eastern yogurt, ranch dressing or sour cream.  

For egg plant, follow the instructions for Sweet Potato French Fries.

Lentil Gravy Over Eggplant and Sweet Potatoes

Place 1 lg tbsp of butter in a pan and let it melt.  Add a chopped onion and 2 cloves of garlic, shake salt and paprika over the top, cook them until they are translucent.  Pour in 1 can of lentils and 1 can of stewed tomatoes; chop up the tomatoes; add 1 tbsp of curry and let simmer.

Serve on a plate next to the sweet potatoes and egg plant.  Sprinkle  fenugreek over the lentil gravy.

Mock Moroccan Beef Stew

Last night I cooked a “Thank God this school year is over!” dinner for Sarah and Jarrod, a couple of our young friends from Aquinas College.  Knowing they were easy to please after years of the dreaded cafeteria, I decided to create as I cook, allowing the food to dictate its own destiny.  I prefer cooking this way over using someone else’s recipe; each dish is a masterpiece all its own.  There might be similar experiences, but never exactly.

My Yaya was a dump-cook (literally how she added ingredients without measuring) and I inherited her style of cooking from the hip.  The only sad part of cooking this way is, when we really love a particular recipe, I can approximate it again, but my hyper-tuned taste buds will inform me that it isn’t the same, forever.  This said, it is important for any who follow to understand that all of my recipes are mere estimations of the mixture of ingredients needed to create the dish.  Keep it loose, and have fun; and add or subtract as you wish (or dare).

 Once, in fourth grade, my Yaya and I set out to conjure some Moroccan food for my class.  Just days before, Mrs. Ellen Bramson assigned each of her students a country for which we would research and make an edible treat to present to the class.  I remember getting Morocco, a country in Africa that I’d never heard of before, and had no idea what types of foods they ate there.  That night I called my Yaya and explained my cooking assignment to her.  She was excited to take on the challenge, and said she would be over the next day to help me.

  

The next evening,Yaya arrived with a recipe, not for cookies, cakes or breads, but something altogether different.  She found a main course:  Moroccan stew; she figured it had the potential to wow any fourth grader, and maybe my teacher as well.  I planned to be the big surprise in class.  I could not read very well in fourth grade, but they all were about to find out that I could cook.  I was really a chip off the Polish block, kitchen block, anyway.  Food is my love language and I was up to the challenge to show my teacher my worth through kitchen talents.  When we got down to work, Yaya passed me peppers, carrots, onions and garlic and told me to get chopping, while she sliced the stew meat into little cubes.  As she threw the meat into the sizzling hot oil, the hot seasoned steam assaulted our senses, provoking our stomachs to protest, yearning for the contents of the pan.

Hours later, my school project was in a bowl wrapped with Glad-wrap and  awaiting the next morning’s debut.  I spent a sleepless night, excitedly awaiting my class’s taste test.  To this day, I remember the look on Mrs. Bramson’s face when she realized that I’d actually cooked a mini-meal for the class; her chocolate brown eyes grew larger and started to sparkle; she knew Yaya helped, and that meant my Moroccan stew would be a real treat.  The other kids made as easy a treat as possible for the class to sample; their families did not enjoy cooking as much as my Yaya and me.  Mine was the hit of the class, a complete triumph.

Periodically over the years, I’ve had a desire for the taste of my Moroccan stew that I made with Yaya.  Last night’s dinner touched my memory banks, alerting me to the close match.  I know that it was not exactly the same, but it was close enough to take me back to 1974, when I was in fourth grade, when I heard my favorite teacher’s raving “Mmmmm,” as she emptied her bowl of my Moroccan stew.

Mock Moroccan Beef Stew

Place 2 lbs of stew meat into a crockpot. Add about 3 or 4 cups of water, 3 bay leaves, and 2 bouillon cubes.  Cook on high until the meat is tender.  

Break up the meat and add:  about 1 cup BBQ sauce, 2 good squeezes honey, 10 shakes soy sauce, dried red peppers, chopped onion, 2 garlic cloves, 4 celery and cook on medium until vegetables are tender.

In a frying pan sauté: 1 green (or red, yellow, orange) pepper, onion (chopped in sesame oil until tender).  

Add: 1/4 cup of flour and brown.  After the flour is browned add the meat mixture and a can of coconut milk.  

Let simmer on low for about 15 minutes.

Serve with real Basmati rice from the local Mediterranean market.  (I’ll bet you find one if you look)

Yummy Morning Maple Nut Yogurt

I’ve decided that I want to be done with college.  It seems that every weekend is taken up with reading and writing papers.  I want some free time!

There was a point when I loved school so much that I figured I could take classes forever. Not anymore, time to move on. Where are the long visits with my friends where I do not have to be anxious about wasting homework time? Where are the my long hours working on my garden relaxing and not worrying about a term paper?  I want the freedom to watch TV for an entire evening if I'd like, or read any book on the shelf and not write a paper afterwards. I do not want to fill my head with facts facts and more facts just to forget them ten minutes after a test.   Basically, I want my adult life back!

After this semester I have three more classes to go.  I’m already trying to figure out how to kill them as quickly and painless as possible so I can get my life back.  Lying in bed this morning I decided that I would take my communications and non-lab science classes this summer leaving one more American lit class for the fall.  I think this is a great plan; I’ll see if I stick to it.  Wait, I have an inner need to take ceramics next fall too; maybe I will take two ceramics classes. I could if I wanted to. No, one will do.  I can use the studio as much as I would like while Brian is in his classes.  After all, it is my last semester of college and I am going to enjoy every minute.  

Yummy Morning Maple Nut Yogurt

In a bowl mix: ½ cup of organic maple yogurt, ¼ oatmeal and some walnuts.  Mix well and eat. 

            If you do not have maple yogurt add real maple syrup to plane or vanilla yogurt.

Chicken Pot Pie

Today is a very busy homework day filled with reading Wuthering Heights for my Victorian Lit. class.  Fortunately I have just enough time to whip up a quick chicken pot pie.  I hope you enjoy!

Chicken Pot Pie

In a crock pot put 4 cups of water and 2 full chicken breast cut in half, and 2 chicken bouillon cubes cook on high for 3 hours.  Cut chicken breasts into small pieces and add: 4 cut carrots, 2 celery, 1 small onion, 1 garlic cube, 1 potato cubed, ½ rutabaga, ¼ frozen corn, 1/2 cup Parisian cheese,  ½ teaspoon sage leaves pinched into small pieces with fingers, ½ thyme, salt and ¼ cup of flour.  Mix well so that all the four lumps are gone.  Cook on high for another hour.

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Pour pie filling into a pie crust and cover with a second crust, make sure there are slits in the top to let the steam out.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes.  Let cook for 10 minutes and eat.

Beef Soup

I love my ceramics class.  For the last two years I had to get serious with my English classes and stop taking my art classes.  Now I realize that my life could have contained a lot less stress if I would have left in my therapeutic hands on class.  

This semester I decided to once again take a class for me.  One that has nothing at all to do with my major and everything to do with my creative side.  Walking into the room, I step into my dream world where creativity with the hands ruled.  Just the smell of the earthy clay stirred my imagination getting myself in tuned with the heart of women artist of the past.  Would I make a huge five foot coil pot?  Something I’ve always wanted to do.  How can I sneak in a cat or two without Madeline noticing?  She hates when I make cats.  How will the terracotta speak to me, or the stone wear walk me down new avenues of discovery?  I am the potter without a vision, but once my hands hit the cold moldable canvas they start to become one, almost hearing it's voice speak to me declaring, “I’m a pineapple pot with molded leaves.”  

Beef Soup

In the crock pot place one package of stew meat, 4 carrots, 2 stalks of American celery, 2 large potatoes, a package of dried onion soup mix, about 10 shakes of Worcestershire sauce, 2 bay leaves and 1 beef bouillon cube.  Place on high for 3 ½ hours.   As the meat gets fully cooked, break the pieces apart so that ever bowl of soup contains meat.  For the next 2 ½ hours the crock pot needs to be turned down to medium.  Add: 1 large tablespoon of marjoram, ½ teaspoon of coriander.   

Serve with a tablespoon of sour cream in each bowl.

Deep Fried Jalapenos

            For the last couple of weeks I’ve craving chicken strips.  Daily my car drove down restaurant lane in Grand Rapids, where I was sure find satisfy the desire for that deep fried piece of chicken breast.  But no, I was not willing to stoop to spend so much money on so little food.  

           Today, Ted and I drove south to Byron Center to my favorite meet market where I knew the “best” chicken tenders in town were sold.  Standing in front of the glass freezer door my eyes froze on the very item that would finally feed the monster within.  A day earlier, I stood at a grocery store counter debating whether or not I would pay $6.50 for six tenders.  The miser side of me took over and we ended up eating burgers instead.  Not today.  Surely the $12.00 that I was about to spend would be well worth me cooking up the six or so meals that the box contained.  After grabbing a Family bundle of beef, a bag of chicken breast and my beloved chicken strips, we were out the door heading home for my long awaited meal.  Today I did not just stop at the chicken, I fried jalapenos, and sweet potatoes too.  What a meal!  With a smile across my face and a full belly, I settled down for my afternoon nap where I dreamed of dancing chicken strips diving in honey mustard.

Deep Fried Jalapenos

In a bowl crack one egg, add one cup of water, a ½ teaspoon of baking powder, salt ½ cup of Parmesan cheese and ½ cup of flour.  Stir until all the lumps are gone and the batter is smooth. 

Dip jalapenos into batter and place them into a pot of hot oil.  Cook until golden brown, turning them over once in awhile.

Serve with ranch dressing.

Leftover Chili Rolls

          It is amazing how you get busy in life and the next thing you know you've neglecting something that you really enjoyed doing, blogging.  Today, I choose to turn over a new leaf and start blogging again; I am sure that after 28 days it will become a habit.

         Being a mother in college is quite a challenge.  Yes, I understand that my kids are no longer in the house, but that does not change their need for mom in their life. The phone rings. "Mom, lets go shopping." I receive a text, "What's for dinner?" and another text, "How about I take you out for dinner?"  Honestly, I'm happy with my life; just interruptions seem to happen the mostly when my homework load is the largest.  

        This past weekend was no exception.  Monday morning arrived, and once again, I'm amazed at how my homework magically got done.  I am sure that it had something to do with me frantically finishing a project before the crack of dawn, cup of coffee in hand, my butt in my Lazy Boy, and  swearing at the computer screen because, for the “c8” attack on my paper. To this day, I still do not know how to stop that from happening. Moments before it’s time to leave, I find myself irritated at the printer, which just ran out of ink, making me even later for my morning class.  In the end, this stress filled life is a valuable tool for shaping my character and I would not change it for anything. 



Leftover Chili Rolls

Why eat the same meal as yesterday when you can create a totally different one?  This is the recipe you've been looking for putting a new face on yesterdays bowl of chili.

Take a flour tortilla, place a line of chili down the center and add cheddar cheese over the top of the chili.  Now fold the ends over about an inch.  Roll lengthwise to close up and place on a cookie sheet with the seam facing down.

Place in 400 F oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Eat with sour cream, guacamole or your favorite salsa.

Bailey's Irish Cream Waffles

I love spending my mornings with my son Ted.  Lately we've enjoyed a handful mornings watching "My Names Earl", a very silly American show, while eating breakfast.  Today was another such morning.  For breakfast, we decided to eat waffles.  While I mixed the batter, Ted's head seemed lost in the refrigerator.  Looking at him, I knew he was in search of something, but what?  Soon, Ted's head popped out and in his hand he held a bottle of Baily's Irish Cream.  He opened the lid and poured a generous amount into the batter.  "Mom, I bet this will taste great!" He said with a grin. Knowing that it was too late to stop the experiment, I continued mixing the batter.  Minutes after I put badder in the waffle iron, our home filled with a wonderful sent.  Now, I decided to set any of my second thoughts aside about the Bailey's, and impatiently waited for my waffle to finish.  The golden brown crunch on the outside yet soft in the middle treat, did not disappoint.

Bailey's Irish Cream Waffles

In a mixing bowl:
2 tablespoons of melted coconut oil
1 egg
2 cups of flour (you might need a bit more)
1 heaping tablespoon of baking powder
1 heaping tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups of milk
1 shot or so of Bailey's Irish Cream

Mix well, and ladle onto a seasoned waffle iron.

Guinness Stew

My sister is writing a blog called "52 Pies".  Her last post is a beef and Guinness pie.  Looking at this new concept of putting Guinness in food, I decided to give it a try.  Not her pie, but cooking with one of my favorite beverages. Being a "seat of the pants cook" the challenge did not see as hard as one might think, I just pretended that I was on a cooking show where the main ingredient had to be Guinness.  From there, I let the contents of my kitchen dictate the dish.

Guinness Stew

In an oven safe pot:
place two stew bones and stew meat, two vegetable bouillon cubes, two bay leaves and sea salt. Add: 4 cups of water. Cook for an hour on 375 F.

In a frying pan:
liberal amount of olive oil, 1 large chopped onion, 4 chopped garlic cloves, and salt.  Saute until tender.  Add: 3 tablespoons of flour.  Cook on low until the flour is browned.

Add into Stew pot:
4 carrots, 2 stalks of celery, 1/2 turnip, frozen corn, frozen peas, 2 tablespoons Marjoram, 1 teaspoon Thyme, 1 bottle of Guinness and on can of stewed tomatoes. 

Cook in oven until meat is tender and falls apart.

Collaborative Enchiladas

Ted's beautiful girlfriend Rita and I decided to make enchiladas  for dinner.  I will say, that this meal did not disappoint in any way. It beet any Mexican dish I've ever ordered in a restaurant, hands down.  Knowing Rita is half Mexican, I thought is best to expand my culinary abilities by shadowing her, and learning new cooking tips.  Trust me, this was not a mistake.  Between the authentic enchiladas and the great conversation, the night was perfect.

Collaborative Enchiladas


 Place 2 lbs of stew meat into a crock pot set on high.  Add 4 cups of water and salt.  Let the meat cook for 3 hours.  Transfer into a small Dutch oven.  Add: water so that meat is completely covered, and one package of Nueva Cocina Picadillo beef seasoning.  If you can not find the already prepared seasoning, add: dehydrated onion, raisins, small amount of sugar, salt, dried red bell peppers, garlic, dried green peppers, green onions and a small amount of vinegar. Cover stew meat and cook in oven for two hours on 375 F.  Take out of oven, place on stove burner to cook out the extra water.  Us a spoon to shred meat while water is evaporating.
 

In a small iron skillet, cook corn tortillas in a small amount of oil until golden brown. 

Place a small amount of stew meat and cheese lengthwise in the center of the tortilla, roll up and place in 9 X 12 pan.  After pan is filled, pour red enchilada sauce over the top and bake for 20 minutes. 

Serve with a portion of re-fried beans, jalapenos, cheese and sour cream.

Pot Roast Omletes

My son Ted works 3rd shift.  Often he stops off at our house on his way home from work to eat breakfast with us.  I cherish these moments, knowing that they will not last forever. Many mornings I dream of freezing  time; maybe that way I never lose my son from growing up. Although if I where honest, I would admit that  my desire to become a grandma far out weighs eating breakfast with Ted.  Ok, that is why I had him buy a home eight houses away from mine, so I can be active in my grand kids lives too.  Back to this morning, Ted came over with a great idea to make pot roast omelets.  His idea produced on of my favorite breakfast meals that I've ever eating in the past 46 years.  I guess I should listen to his suggestions more often.

Pot Roast Omelets

Cut up pot roast into small pieces and heat in a pan.  Add Worcestershire sauce on the meat while it is heating.   

Two eggs mixed together with a bit of milk.  When the eggs are partially cooked grate cheddar cheese on half of the omelet.  Take some of the heated meat and sprinkle it on half of the omelet.  When eggs are cooked to your liking, flip over omelet style and eat. 

Extra suggestions:  Feel free to add: onions, green peppers, mushrooms or anything that goes well with roast. 

I also made scrambled eggs with pot roast. First,  I sauteed onions, then I added two eggs mixed with milk and grated cheddar cheese.  I cooked the eggs until the cheese was past melted and a bit burned.  I love burned cheese.  This is a must make recipe!

Special Christmas Sweets

I ‘m on Christmas vacation from college classes from 18 December 2011 to 9 January 2012.  As always, I had big plans to write every day working on my blogs and maybe a book.  By taking one glance at the last post of this blog, it is apparent that I've found other activities to keep myself busy.  Christmas week was filled with hanging out with my kids eating a lot of good food, drink wine and port (Complements of Ted and Rita), talking and laughing really hard and playing games.  I think that the creative writing part of my brain decided to go on a break too.  

Now the Christmas lights are down, and my kids are gone, it's time for me to get serious and start writing again. This blog is dedicated to the many different recipes prepared for our Christmas celebration.  It would be wonderful to be able to take the credit for all of the recipes that in today's blog, but I cannot.  So, Marcia Butlman, Christmas would not be the same without your banket recipe.  My family loves almond past. I believe that you're the originator of our addiction.  When each of my kids found the hidden treat, they looked at me and said, "Marcia's banket!" Yes, Marcia is the banket queen.  In addition to her banket, Marcia gave me a new Toffee Squares recipe.  This is a, OMG I must eat bar! I promise it will not disappoint anyone who makes it.  Well it will if you substitute the butter; make sure to use real butter and you will be the hit of any party you take this bar to.

Banket
Crust:
4 cups of flour
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/w teaspoon baking powder
1 lb butter soften
1 scant cup of water
Mix and refrigerate overnight.
Filling:
1 lb almond past room temp.
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs take out one egg white for latter.
Mix and divide into 8 parts.
Separate crust into 8 equal balls.  Roll out 1/8 of crust about 12 inches long and 4 inches wide.  Put 1/8 filling in the center of crust. (roll filling to almost the size of the crust) Fold ends over, roll and seal pastry using a bit of egg white.  Brush egg white on top and sprinkle sugar over the top.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

Toffee Squares
Pre-heat the oven to 350 F
Crust:
2 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 stick softened butter
Topping:
1 cup paean halves
2 sticks butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Combine crust ingredients until well blended.  Press into ungreased 9x13 pan.  Distribute pecans over crust.
Filling:
Combine butter and sugar in exactly 1 minute.  Stir constantly.  Pour over crust.  Bake exactly 20 minutes.  Sprinkle chocolate chips over top, evenly.  When chips soften, spread with knife to cover top.

My friend Linda Mathews loves to create pastries.  For all who think these tasty treats are difficult to make, think again.  All you need is per-made pastry crust, pie filling and marzipan.  Linda's pastries are so simple yet their appearance and flavor deceives any party guest, giving them the impression that hours of labor were needed in the creation of flaky mini pies. 

Linda's Pastries

Pre-made pie crust, pie filling and marzipan.

Prepare cupcake tin with papers.

Roll out pie crust.  Thin it to half its thickness.  Use cookie cutter or glass and cut out circles of crust.  Place circles of crust in cupcake tin; bake in oven for 10 minutes or until crust is lightly flaky. Take out of the oven: Add a couple tablespoons full of pie filling.  My favorite is cherry or marzipan.  Bake in the oven until crust is golden.


It is tradition to make  sticky buns every Christmas morning.  It is ok if we do not have money for presents, or even fancy foods, but it is unexceptionable for me to not create these cinnamon nutty rolls no matter how small our holiday budget.  The beauty about these is, it does not take all day to create.

Sticky buns

Two cans of large pre-made biscuits dough.  One package of vanilla, chocolate or butterscotch pudding, brown sugar, cinnamon, pecans and butter.

Place in a bowl: pudding, 1/2 cup brown sugar, cinnamon, and ground pecans. 

In another bowl, melted butter.

On the bottom of a bunt pan place melted butter, brown sugar and pecans.

Roll the one biscuit in the butter and then the cinnamon mix.  Place in a bunt pan. Repeat. After pan is full, pour all the remaining cinnamon mix over the top.  Bake in a 375 F oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until fully cooked.


After taking it out of the oven, immediately turn upside down on a plate.  Keep bunt pan on top of the buns until serving.