I wanted to make these because they sounded like a recipe my mom used to make back in the day. I was reasonably sure that nobody would like them except me. But hey, family, I cannot be accomodating 100% of the time! Ha ha ha. But I am happy to say that everyone except Nathan liked these! Which is as good as it gets around here, pretty much, since Nathan doesn't like much outside the chicken family. From Taste of Home Aug/Sept 2010.
Apple Bran Muffins
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 cups milk
4 eggs
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups All-Bran cereal
2 cups shredded peeled apples
1 cup chopped walnuts (I left these out. Walnuts are my least favorite nut.)
1 cup raisins
In a large bowl (and it should be large--mine almost wasn't big enough) combine first six ingredients. In another bowl, combine the milk, eggs, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in remaining ingredients. Fill greased or paper-lined muffins cups 3/4 full. Bake @ 350 for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes back clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks. 24 muffins
Obviously you could halve this recipe if you didn't want to make so many. But then you might feel like it wasn't worth it to buy the All-Bran. I still have over half the box left. There is a cookie recipe on the All-Bran box, how impressed would my family be if I made All-Bran cookies? Hahaha. You could also freeze a bunch of them, or give them away. We gave some away and the rest we will finish up in the next couple of days. So another keeper.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
Spice Bread with Maple Butter
I made this this afternoon to have with supper tonight. We are having kind of like a scrambled egg skillet, with eggs, sausage, and hash browns all mixed together. Emma really likes quick breads. So we made this one. It's from the Feb/March '09 issue of Taste of Home. I doubled the recipe, because I figured if I was using the oven for one loaf, I might as well use it for 2. But I have typed it for just one loaf, like it was written.
Spice Bread with Maple Butter
1/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I left these out...nobody likes nuts here except me...)
Butter:
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp cinnamon
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flours, baking powder, spices, and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Fold in walnuts. Transfer to a greased 8x4 inch loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick comes back clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire rack. Beat butter ingredients until blended; serve with bread.
So this was pretty yummy. It smelled fabulous. While it was in the oven, all 3 kids commented on how good "something" smelled. We ate it once it had cooled, and it was a bit dry, but I think we will warm up the slices we have left over and smear the maple butter on them and they will be delightful. A keeper!
Spice Bread with Maple Butter
1/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I left these out...nobody likes nuts here except me...)
Butter:
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp cinnamon
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flours, baking powder, spices, and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Fold in walnuts. Transfer to a greased 8x4 inch loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick comes back clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire rack. Beat butter ingredients until blended; serve with bread.
So this was pretty yummy. It smelled fabulous. While it was in the oven, all 3 kids commented on how good "something" smelled. We ate it once it had cooled, and it was a bit dry, but I think we will warm up the slices we have left over and smear the maple butter on them and they will be delightful. A keeper!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Cider Pork Chops
Aaaah fall cooking! I love it! Even though it's August, I got my Sept/Oct 2010 issue of Simple and Delicious and this is the first recipe I have marked to try out of it. I haven't seen cider in stores yet, but it says you can make it with apple juice too so that's what I'm doing. If it's very yummy I'll make it with cider next time.
Cider Pork Chops
2 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 bone-in pork chops
1 tbsp canola oil
1 cup sliced celery
4 green onions, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 cup apple cider or juice
In a large ziploc bag, combine the flour, salt, and pepper. Add pork chops and toss to coat. In a large skillet, brown chops in oil. Remove and keep warm. In the same skillet, saute the celery, onions, garlic and thyme for 2-3 minutes until crisp-tender. Return pork to pan. Add cider. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 7-8 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 160. Serve with slotted spoon.
So this wasn't bad. We had it with mashed potatoes and sugar snap peas. All the kids ate the pork chops, which should make it a success. There just wasn't anything spectacular about it. I have other pork chop recipes I like better. So while it was a fine meal, I don't think I'll keep this recipe.
Cider Pork Chops
2 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 bone-in pork chops
1 tbsp canola oil
1 cup sliced celery
4 green onions, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 cup apple cider or juice
In a large ziploc bag, combine the flour, salt, and pepper. Add pork chops and toss to coat. In a large skillet, brown chops in oil. Remove and keep warm. In the same skillet, saute the celery, onions, garlic and thyme for 2-3 minutes until crisp-tender. Return pork to pan. Add cider. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 7-8 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 160. Serve with slotted spoon.
So this wasn't bad. We had it with mashed potatoes and sugar snap peas. All the kids ate the pork chops, which should make it a success. There just wasn't anything spectacular about it. I have other pork chop recipes I like better. So while it was a fine meal, I don't think I'll keep this recipe.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Cream Puff Cake
So I made this for our home fellowship tonight. It's from the latest Taste of Home, Aug/Sept 2010. They had a picture of this cake by the recipe and it looked so so good. I have tried making cream puffs before, with a degree of success. They weren't quite as good as I wanted them to be. But this you then cover with pudding and Cool Whip, so what could go wrong?
Cream Puff Cake
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter, cubed
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs
Filling:
1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese, softened
2 1/2 cups milk
3 pkg (3.3 oz each) instant white chocolate pudding or vanilla pudding mix (I wanted to use white chocolate but they didn't have instant at Walmart, only cook and serve...so I used vanilla)
8 oz carton cool whip, thawed
In a large saucepan, bring water and butter to a boil. Add flour all at once and stir until a smooth ball forms. Continue beating until smooth and shiny. Remove from the heat; let stand for 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Transfer to a greased 13x9 inch baking dish. Bake @ 400 for 22-26 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack. For filling, in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, milk, and pudding mixes until smooth. Spread over the crust; refrigerate for 20 minutes. Spread with cool whip. Chill until serving.
The problem with making the cream puff part is that I was never sure if I was doing it right. Having done this only once before, I had no idea if I was doing it right or not, or if it looked right. While I was mixing it, I was thinking up contingency plans, such as "what time will I have to leave if I have to stop at Hannaford on the way to the Hinchliffe's to pick up a dessert," and "if this crust bombs, can I do something with just the pudding?" When the crust came out of the oven, it had risen quite a bit, was quite puffy indeed. When all was said and done, it certainly didn't look like the one in the picture. But it did look tasty. Once I added the filling it looked even better. Think of this as kind of an open-faced cream horn. It tasted so good! All the kids liked it at home fellowship, and the grown-ups did too. Definitely for sure 100% a keeper! If I find white chocolate pudding mix I'm going to try that next time too.
Cream Puff Cake
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter, cubed
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs
Filling:
1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese, softened
2 1/2 cups milk
3 pkg (3.3 oz each) instant white chocolate pudding or vanilla pudding mix (I wanted to use white chocolate but they didn't have instant at Walmart, only cook and serve...so I used vanilla)
8 oz carton cool whip, thawed
In a large saucepan, bring water and butter to a boil. Add flour all at once and stir until a smooth ball forms. Continue beating until smooth and shiny. Remove from the heat; let stand for 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Transfer to a greased 13x9 inch baking dish. Bake @ 400 for 22-26 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack. For filling, in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, milk, and pudding mixes until smooth. Spread over the crust; refrigerate for 20 minutes. Spread with cool whip. Chill until serving.
The problem with making the cream puff part is that I was never sure if I was doing it right. Having done this only once before, I had no idea if I was doing it right or not, or if it looked right. While I was mixing it, I was thinking up contingency plans, such as "what time will I have to leave if I have to stop at Hannaford on the way to the Hinchliffe's to pick up a dessert," and "if this crust bombs, can I do something with just the pudding?" When the crust came out of the oven, it had risen quite a bit, was quite puffy indeed. When all was said and done, it certainly didn't look like the one in the picture. But it did look tasty. Once I added the filling it looked even better. Think of this as kind of an open-faced cream horn. It tasted so good! All the kids liked it at home fellowship, and the grown-ups did too. Definitely for sure 100% a keeper! If I find white chocolate pudding mix I'm going to try that next time too.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Stamp of Approval Spaghetti Sauce
We had this today. It's homemade, but with canned tomatoes. I don't grow any in a garden or anything. But still they are just cut up tomatoes in a can, and I transform them into spaghetti sauce. So it's homemade sauce. We don't really like spaghetti as a pasta. So we will have this on another kind of pasta for supper. This says it make 12 servings (3 quarts). We are going to have pasta and sauce tonight for supper, then I'm going to freeze what's left.
Stamp of Approval Spaghetti Sauce
2 lbs ground beef
3/4 lb bulk italian sausage
4 medium onions, finely chopped
8 cloves garlic, minced
4 cans (14.5 oz each) diced tomatoes, undrained
4 cans (6 oz each) tomato paste
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sugar (why? I hear it lessens the tartness of the tomatoes or something. I added it, but I bet you could leave it out if you don't want it)
1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp oil
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
2 tsp dried basil (or 2 tbsp fresh)
1 tsp dried oregano (or 1 tbsp fresh)
4 bay leaves
1 tsp rubbed sage
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
1/2 tsp pepper
Hot cooked spaghetti (or other pasta)
In a Dutch oven, cook the beef, sausage, onions, and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Transfer to 5 quart slow cooker. Stir in all remaining ingredients except hot pasta. Cover and cook on low 8 hours or until bubbly. Discard bay leaves. Serve with pasta.
We had ours with garlic bread, too. Because that is Emma's specialty lately. We slice half a loaf of french bread down the middle, smear it with butter, then sprinkle with garlic powder and shredded parmesan. Emma likes to do it all, after I cut the bread. She apparently needs to be carefully monitored when sprinkling garlic powder...I think half the bottle was on the bread. I saw it and I was like "gasp." I picked up each half and dumped it over the sink and a ton of it fell off. A bunch stayed on, too. Then she put the cheese on. She calls it "stinky feet cheese." She is becoming quite the little chef. Back to the sauce: I think if you didn't have all these spices already this could be an expensive recipe. Although you can get spices very cheaply at the Natural Living Center. But then if you don't have a jar to keep them in already, you just have little baggies all through your cabinet. I have bought a spice there once, when I ran out of thyme. (hee hee, get it, ran out of TIME?) They have a minimum weight that you have to buy, which isn't much, but it took a whole lot more than I was expecting to meet that minimum. My thyme container is one of those short small ones, and I ended up having to buy enough to fill that twice in order to meet the minimum weight. Spices don't go bad so I guess it's fine. Not that I use thyme that much, and I'm certainly not going to search out recipes for it. Anyway the sauce was very thick...hard to dip the garlic bread in it to eat. Very hearty. It tasted like it had something missing. I still have half a jar of Ragu in my fridge, and I read it. It doesn't say HFCS, so that can't be what's missing. But something was. Even still we have a bunch of this to freeze. Enough for 4 meal's worth, by my estimation. I am keeping the recipe, because I like the idea of being homemade. Maybe it needs more sugar. Probably it does.
Stamp of Approval Spaghetti Sauce
2 lbs ground beef
3/4 lb bulk italian sausage
4 medium onions, finely chopped
8 cloves garlic, minced
4 cans (14.5 oz each) diced tomatoes, undrained
4 cans (6 oz each) tomato paste
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sugar (why? I hear it lessens the tartness of the tomatoes or something. I added it, but I bet you could leave it out if you don't want it)
1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp oil
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
2 tsp dried basil (or 2 tbsp fresh)
1 tsp dried oregano (or 1 tbsp fresh)
4 bay leaves
1 tsp rubbed sage
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
1/2 tsp pepper
Hot cooked spaghetti (or other pasta)
In a Dutch oven, cook the beef, sausage, onions, and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Transfer to 5 quart slow cooker. Stir in all remaining ingredients except hot pasta. Cover and cook on low 8 hours or until bubbly. Discard bay leaves. Serve with pasta.
We had ours with garlic bread, too. Because that is Emma's specialty lately. We slice half a loaf of french bread down the middle, smear it with butter, then sprinkle with garlic powder and shredded parmesan. Emma likes to do it all, after I cut the bread. She apparently needs to be carefully monitored when sprinkling garlic powder...I think half the bottle was on the bread. I saw it and I was like "gasp." I picked up each half and dumped it over the sink and a ton of it fell off. A bunch stayed on, too. Then she put the cheese on. She calls it "stinky feet cheese." She is becoming quite the little chef. Back to the sauce: I think if you didn't have all these spices already this could be an expensive recipe. Although you can get spices very cheaply at the Natural Living Center. But then if you don't have a jar to keep them in already, you just have little baggies all through your cabinet. I have bought a spice there once, when I ran out of thyme. (hee hee, get it, ran out of TIME?) They have a minimum weight that you have to buy, which isn't much, but it took a whole lot more than I was expecting to meet that minimum. My thyme container is one of those short small ones, and I ended up having to buy enough to fill that twice in order to meet the minimum weight. Spices don't go bad so I guess it's fine. Not that I use thyme that much, and I'm certainly not going to search out recipes for it. Anyway the sauce was very thick...hard to dip the garlic bread in it to eat. Very hearty. It tasted like it had something missing. I still have half a jar of Ragu in my fridge, and I read it. It doesn't say HFCS, so that can't be what's missing. But something was. Even still we have a bunch of this to freeze. Enough for 4 meal's worth, by my estimation. I am keeping the recipe, because I like the idea of being homemade. Maybe it needs more sugar. Probably it does.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Chicken Alphabet Soup
Yep it's August. But there is a hint of fall in the air in the mornings. And I don't really care what season it is, I guess. So, I made soup for supper tonight. I've had this one marked for a while as well. We are having it with the leftover butterhorns from last night.
Chicken Alphabet Soup
3 medium carrots, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
3/4 cup chopped sweet onion
1 tbsp olive oil
2 quarts chicken broth (which is 8 cups...I used homemade chicken stock yummmmmm)
3 cups cooked cubed chicken breast
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 1/2 cups uncooked alphabet pasta
3 tbsp minced fresh parsley (I left this out...like I said in a previous post, it's just extra green stuff that makes the kids think they won't like it.
In a Dutch oven, saute the carrots, celery, and onion in oil until tender. Stir in the broth, chicken and thyme. Bring to a boil. Stir in pasta. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until tender. Stir in parsley. 10 servings.
Have you ever seen/heard of Martha Speaks? It's this show on PBS with talking dog...her owners gave her alphabet soup and now she can talk. I asked Nathan if he was going to be able to talk after he ate this soup, just like Martha. You could tell he didn't really know how to answer me. Of course Nathan & Emma did not want to eat this. Emma did fine her first two bites then, surprise, she was full! So weird how that happens. Sam ate all his without a word, which he is getting good at and which blesses me every time. Nathan didn't want anything but the chicken, but he had a few bites of noodles and A carrot, under duress. So yet another peaceful dinner time has passed at the Page house...
Chicken Alphabet Soup
3 medium carrots, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
3/4 cup chopped sweet onion
1 tbsp olive oil
2 quarts chicken broth (which is 8 cups...I used homemade chicken stock yummmmmm)
3 cups cooked cubed chicken breast
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 1/2 cups uncooked alphabet pasta
3 tbsp minced fresh parsley (I left this out...like I said in a previous post, it's just extra green stuff that makes the kids think they won't like it.
In a Dutch oven, saute the carrots, celery, and onion in oil until tender. Stir in the broth, chicken and thyme. Bring to a boil. Stir in pasta. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until tender. Stir in parsley. 10 servings.
Have you ever seen/heard of Martha Speaks? It's this show on PBS with talking dog...her owners gave her alphabet soup and now she can talk. I asked Nathan if he was going to be able to talk after he ate this soup, just like Martha. You could tell he didn't really know how to answer me. Of course Nathan & Emma did not want to eat this. Emma did fine her first two bites then, surprise, she was full! So weird how that happens. Sam ate all his without a word, which he is getting good at and which blesses me every time. Nathan didn't want anything but the chicken, but he had a few bites of noodles and A carrot, under duress. So yet another peaceful dinner time has passed at the Page house...
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Cordon Bleu Appetizers
I have had this recipe marked for a while but have not had a good venue to make it. So if you read the last post (Butterhorns) that I did, you will see that tonight seemed like a good night to roll them out. Figuratively speaking, of course. This is from Taste of Home Feb/March '09. Yep, an old one. It's one of the magazines Jessica gave me when I was laid up.
Cordon Bleu Appetizers
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 cup (4 oz) shredded Swiss cheese
3/4 cup fully cooked diced ham
1/2 cup minced chives, divided
18 slices French bread (1/2 inch thick)
In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and mustard until smooth. Stir in the Swiss cheese, ham, and 1/4 cup chives. Spread 1 tbsp mixture over each bread slice; place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Sprinkle with remaining chives.
So these were pretty good. The cheese didn't get very melty, I thought it would spread over the bread better but it just stayed where I put it...also my chunks of ham were kind of big, so if I made this again I would cut the ham up smaller. Nathan and Emma didn't try them, but everyone else did. I got no negative feedback. These looked pretty nice on the tray too.
Cordon Bleu Appetizers
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 cup (4 oz) shredded Swiss cheese
3/4 cup fully cooked diced ham
1/2 cup minced chives, divided
18 slices French bread (1/2 inch thick)
In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and mustard until smooth. Stir in the Swiss cheese, ham, and 1/4 cup chives. Spread 1 tbsp mixture over each bread slice; place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Sprinkle with remaining chives.
So these were pretty good. The cheese didn't get very melty, I thought it would spread over the bread better but it just stayed where I put it...also my chunks of ham were kind of big, so if I made this again I would cut the ham up smaller. Nathan and Emma didn't try them, but everyone else did. I got no negative feedback. These looked pretty nice on the tray too.
Butterhorns
Sounds like something they would serve on the Matterhorn. Basically these look like Pillsbury crescent rolls except they're homemade. The lady who sent this recipe in to Taste of Home says that you can cut them into any shape, but I'm not really creative like that. Probably Becky H would make flowers or whales or something...Anyway I just made them crescent-shaped. This is from the Taste of Home Aug/Sept 2010 issue. Emma and I made these to go with the supper we are having tonight. Steve's parents are coming over and the kids really wanted to have their favorite supper with them, which is (drumroll please): Shepherd's Pie. So I made these rolls to go with it, and also I am making an appetizer which I will post separately. To kind of fancy up run-of-the-mill shepherd's pie...which I know the kids will eat without a fight, which has to count for something, right??
Butterhorns
1 tbsp active dry yeast
1 tsp plus 1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup warm milk (110 to 115 degrees)
1 egg
3/4 tsp salt
4 cups all-purpose flour
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 tsp sugar in warm water. Add the butter, milk, egg, salt remaining sugar and 2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (I used the whole 2 cups). Turn onto a floured surface, knead until smooth and elastic (about 6-8 minutes). Place in greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down. Turn onto lightly floured surface; divide in half. Roll each portion into a 12-inch circle; cut each circle into 12 wedges. Roll up wedges from the wide end and place point side down 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets. Curve ends to form crescents. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks. 2 dozen
Emma and I already ate one. I told her we have to try them to make sure they're yummy before we feed them to other people. They were very very good. Nice and soft. And really not very hard, although a tad time-consuming just because of the rise. But we weren't going anywhere today anyway so it's fine. A keeper for sure.
Butterhorns
1 tbsp active dry yeast
1 tsp plus 1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup warm milk (110 to 115 degrees)
1 egg
3/4 tsp salt
4 cups all-purpose flour
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 tsp sugar in warm water. Add the butter, milk, egg, salt remaining sugar and 2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (I used the whole 2 cups). Turn onto a floured surface, knead until smooth and elastic (about 6-8 minutes). Place in greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down. Turn onto lightly floured surface; divide in half. Roll each portion into a 12-inch circle; cut each circle into 12 wedges. Roll up wedges from the wide end and place point side down 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets. Curve ends to form crescents. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks. 2 dozen
Emma and I already ate one. I told her we have to try them to make sure they're yummy before we feed them to other people. They were very very good. Nice and soft. And really not very hard, although a tad time-consuming just because of the rise. But we weren't going anywhere today anyway so it's fine. A keeper for sure.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Homemade Flour Tortillas
So after my fiasco last month trying to make tortillas (see "Homemade Tortillas" from July '10), my friend Lisa gave me this recipe to try. She gave me 2 sample tortillas also, to prove that she had successfully done this. So I would know it wasn't a practical joke. She got the recipe from allrecipes.com. I have had varying degrees of success with that website. Anyway here is the recipe.
Homemade Flour Tortillas
4 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp lard (I used olive oil)
1 1/2 cups water
Whisk the flour, salt, and baking powder together in a mixing bowl. Mix in the lard with your fingers until the flour resembles cornmeal. Add the water and mix until the dough comes together; place on a lightly floured surface and knead a few minutes until smooth and elastic. Divide the dough into 24 equal pieces (cha, right) and roll each piece into a ball. Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Use a well-floured rolling pin to roll a dough ball into a thin, round tortilla (oh, no problem). Place into the hot skillet and cook until bubbly and golden; flip and continue cooking until golden on the other side. Place the cooked tortilla in a tortilla warmer; continue rolling and cooking the remaining dough.
I think you can guess how this went for me. Emma came in as I was putting the ingredients together, and wanted to help. So we did this together. That was the only good thing about it!! We did okay until it was time to divide the dough into 24 equal pieces. I did attempt this. But when it was time to roll them out, even rolling them as thin as I possibly could, #1 they were not round, not even close, and #2 they were so small they looked like you would use them for a doll tea party. So then I put 2 balls together and rolled them out. The shape improved somewhat, but they were as thin as I could get them, so thin that they ripped a little when I transferred them from the pastry mat to the skillet, but once they hit the skillet, they rose so much that I think they were too thick. Lisa's didn't look like that. So, big fail (again). I have totally given up on homemade tortillas and will only be using store-bought from now on.
It was a very nice time with Emma though. I was getting frustrated with the dough, which was not always cooperative about being rolled into a circle. At one point Steve came in and I kind of snapped at him, just a little, and Emma said "Don't worry Daddy, she's not mad at you, she's mad at the dough." Ha!
Homemade Flour Tortillas
4 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp lard (I used olive oil)
1 1/2 cups water
Whisk the flour, salt, and baking powder together in a mixing bowl. Mix in the lard with your fingers until the flour resembles cornmeal. Add the water and mix until the dough comes together; place on a lightly floured surface and knead a few minutes until smooth and elastic. Divide the dough into 24 equal pieces (cha, right) and roll each piece into a ball. Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Use a well-floured rolling pin to roll a dough ball into a thin, round tortilla (oh, no problem). Place into the hot skillet and cook until bubbly and golden; flip and continue cooking until golden on the other side. Place the cooked tortilla in a tortilla warmer; continue rolling and cooking the remaining dough.
I think you can guess how this went for me. Emma came in as I was putting the ingredients together, and wanted to help. So we did this together. That was the only good thing about it!! We did okay until it was time to divide the dough into 24 equal pieces. I did attempt this. But when it was time to roll them out, even rolling them as thin as I possibly could, #1 they were not round, not even close, and #2 they were so small they looked like you would use them for a doll tea party. So then I put 2 balls together and rolled them out. The shape improved somewhat, but they were as thin as I could get them, so thin that they ripped a little when I transferred them from the pastry mat to the skillet, but once they hit the skillet, they rose so much that I think they were too thick. Lisa's didn't look like that. So, big fail (again). I have totally given up on homemade tortillas and will only be using store-bought from now on.
It was a very nice time with Emma though. I was getting frustrated with the dough, which was not always cooperative about being rolled into a circle. At one point Steve came in and I kind of snapped at him, just a little, and Emma said "Don't worry Daddy, she's not mad at you, she's mad at the dough." Ha!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Grilled Potato Salad
This sounded so yummy when I saw it. It's the last one from the Lipton cookbook I started last week. I am just going to put this cookbook in the Goodwill bag, or put it in a yard sale or something, since it has no sentimental value...we had this with the pork chop recipe that I posted a minute ago...
Grilled Potato Salad
1 envelope onion soup mix
1/3 cup olive or vegetable oil
2 tbps red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 pounds small red or all-purpose potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 tbsp fresh basil, or 1 tsp dried basil, crushed
Freshly ground black pepper
In a large bowl, blend soup mix, oil, vinegar, and garlic; stir in potatoes. Grease 30x18 inch sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil; top with potato mixture. Wrap foil loosely around mixture, sealing edges airtight with double fold. Place on another sheet of 30x18 inch foil; seal edges airtight with double fold in opposite direction. Grill, shaking package occasionally and turning package once, 40 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Spoon into serving bowl and toss with basil and pepper. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
Oven method: Preheat oven to 450. Prepare foil packet as above. Place in large baking pan on bottom rack and bake, turning packet once, 40 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Toss and serve as above.
So this was VERY good. The kids didn't really like it, but Steve and I did. I think it would be good for like a barbecue or potluck or something, because it did make quite a bit. Smelled awesome while it was cooking. I forgot to grease the foil, but there was enough oil in the mix that the potatoes didn't really stick. So this one is a keeper! Maybe a bit much "onion soup mix" action, so I wouldn't necessarily make these two things together again. But still a good meal. Also the typical foil size is 12 inches wide, so that made for some interesting moments, but I still wouldn't buy bigger foil just for this recipe.
Grilled Potato Salad
1 envelope onion soup mix
1/3 cup olive or vegetable oil
2 tbps red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 pounds small red or all-purpose potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 tbsp fresh basil, or 1 tsp dried basil, crushed
Freshly ground black pepper
In a large bowl, blend soup mix, oil, vinegar, and garlic; stir in potatoes. Grease 30x18 inch sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil; top with potato mixture. Wrap foil loosely around mixture, sealing edges airtight with double fold. Place on another sheet of 30x18 inch foil; seal edges airtight with double fold in opposite direction. Grill, shaking package occasionally and turning package once, 40 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Spoon into serving bowl and toss with basil and pepper. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
Oven method: Preheat oven to 450. Prepare foil packet as above. Place in large baking pan on bottom rack and bake, turning packet once, 40 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Toss and serve as above.
So this was VERY good. The kids didn't really like it, but Steve and I did. I think it would be good for like a barbecue or potluck or something, because it did make quite a bit. Smelled awesome while it was cooking. I forgot to grease the foil, but there was enough oil in the mix that the potatoes didn't really stick. So this one is a keeper! Maybe a bit much "onion soup mix" action, so I wouldn't necessarily make these two things together again. But still a good meal. Also the typical foil size is 12 inches wide, so that made for some interesting moments, but I still wouldn't buy bigger foil just for this recipe.
Onion-Baked Pork Chops
This is one of the last 2 things I have marked to try out of that Lipton cookbook I found. We had this tonight along with a hot potato salad recipe that I will post separately, for the sake of labeling. I pretty much love that onion soup mix. I don't think I've ever made anything with it that I haven't liked. It is pretty salty, but that's still okay for us.
Onion-Baked Pork Chops
1 envelope onion soup mix
1/3 cup plain dry bread crumbs
4 pork chops (I used boneless)
1 egg, well beaten
Preheat oven to 400. In small bowl, combine soup mix and bread crumbs. Dip chops in egg, then bread crumb mixture, until evenly coated. In lightly greased 13x9 baking or roasting pan, arrange chops. Bake uncovered 20 minutes or until done, turning once. 4 servings.
They have a "tip" afterward that says you can use other Lipton soup mixes besides this one, such as Onion, Savory Herb with Garlic, or Fiesta Herb with Red Pepper Soup Mix.
Emma ate all her meat without me having to say anything. Nathan was a different story. He doesn't like his "chicken" to have any "yuckies" on it. But, we made him eat it anyway. Nothing bad happened. Steve and I both liked it. The pork chops were very moist, which is nice because sometimes pork can be rather dry, at least when I make it. The breading must have sealed in the flavor. So not bad.
Onion-Baked Pork Chops
1 envelope onion soup mix
1/3 cup plain dry bread crumbs
4 pork chops (I used boneless)
1 egg, well beaten
Preheat oven to 400. In small bowl, combine soup mix and bread crumbs. Dip chops in egg, then bread crumb mixture, until evenly coated. In lightly greased 13x9 baking or roasting pan, arrange chops. Bake uncovered 20 minutes or until done, turning once. 4 servings.
They have a "tip" afterward that says you can use other Lipton soup mixes besides this one, such as Onion, Savory Herb with Garlic, or Fiesta Herb with Red Pepper Soup Mix.
Emma ate all her meat without me having to say anything. Nathan was a different story. He doesn't like his "chicken" to have any "yuckies" on it. But, we made him eat it anyway. Nothing bad happened. Steve and I both liked it. The pork chops were very moist, which is nice because sometimes pork can be rather dry, at least when I make it. The breading must have sealed in the flavor. So not bad.
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