Chewy Oatmeal Snack Bars

Hello! This year my sister-in-law made a bunch of different cookies for Christmas, then gave a few of each one along with the recipes for them. That's a pretty good idea, I think. So this was one of her recipes, although I don't remember these being in the cookie bag. These actually came out more like homemade granola bars. The reason I tried them was to see if they would be something healthy and yummy. And they are pretty good, as long as you think of them as granola bar-like things and not like a dessert thing. They are quite hearty.

Chewy Oatmeal Snack Bars
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup maple flavored syrup
2/3 cup cruncy peanut butter (I used creamy, we don't really like crunchy)
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup dried cranberries (I used dried mixed berries because it sounded like it would be better)
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
3 cups quick oats
1 cup wheat germ (yes, I did buy and use this. Steve doesn't know yet though)

Grease bottom and sides of 13x9 pan with shortening. In large mixing bowl combine cranberries, graham cracker crumbs, oats, and wheat germ. Melt butter in 2 qt saucepan over med/low heat. Stir in brown sugar & maple syrup, heat to boiling. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, stir in peanut butter and vanilla til smooth. Pour mixture over dry mixture in mixing bowl and mix together well. Press evenly into prepared pan. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. Cut into 24 squares.

And even though usually if we make brownies in a pan this size we get like 8 brownies, really if you cut these into 24 squares, one will be enough for a serving. So there's my foray into healthful eating.

Monterey Jack Cheese Soup

Hello! We had this on Wednesday for supper before church. Also, that day I made homemade yeast bread for the first time, with only 2 calls to my mom, so that was pretty cool. It was whole wheat and rather dense, so I won't bother with posting that recipe, but I am going to try my hand at white bread next (Cinnamon Swirl--stay tuned). Anyway we had this soup with the bread. I think I was expecting something heartier, but it ended up being the texture of tomato soup (the Campbell's version). Except white. So it was weird. I almost dumped the whole thing down the sink because it didn't look at all appetizing. But you know Duke Frugal would never allow that. He said let's just try it, and if it's not good we can just have homemade bread for supper (they used to do that in pioneer days all the time. I know because I read the books). So we tried it, and it was actually quite yummy! We dipped our dense wheat bread into it, and then when that was gone tried it with saltines, just like we do for tomato soup, and it was very good. So here it is...

Monterey Jack Cheese Soup
1 cup chicken broth
1 lg tomato, peeled, seeded, and diced (boy is it hard to peel a tomato)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 tbsp chopped green chilies (I left these out because I thought they would make it too spicy)
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
salt & pepper to taste
3 cups milk, divided
1 1/2 cups (6 oz) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

In a 3 qt sauce pan, combine broth, tomato, onion, chilies, and garlic. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Remove from heat and set aside. In another saucepan, melt butter. Stir in the flour, salt and pepper until smooth. Gradually stir in 1 1/2 cups milk. Bring to a boil; cook & stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Slowly stir into vegetable mixture. Reduce heat; add cheese and remaining milk (even though it doesn't say this, I think you return the original pan to the burner. Because how can you reduce the heat of something that is removed from heat?). Cook and stir over low heat until cheese is melted. Serve immediately. 5 servings.

This is from the Taste of Home cookbook that mom got me & Jess for Christmas, and she has one too. For interested parties, this was on page 66. I totally didn't follow my own seestem, because usually I work straight through a cookbook until I'm done and don't go to another one, unless it's a cooking magazine which I try to incorporate when I get the magazine. But I knew I was making that bread this week and wanted something soupy to go with it. So when I was glancing through this one I saw this recipe and it sounded good & easy. But no wonder they don't have a picture of it with the recipe. I bet nobody would make it then.

Onion-Cheese Bread

Hello! This I made for the Coffin's New Year's Eve party. I know, it was a bold move to make a new recipe and then bring it to a place where many people would try it. But I had no choice, since it was storming yesterday and I didn't want to clean off my car and bring all 3 kids to the store to get ingredients for anything else. But it ended up pretty good, and it smelled really good while it was baking, too. It's from the Better Homes & Gardens one.

Onion-Cheese Bread
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tbsp margarine or butter
1/2 cup milk
1 slightly beaten egg
1 1/2 cups bisquick
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tbsp poppy seed
cooked thinly sliced onion

Grease 8x1 1/2 inch round pan, set aside. Cook chopped onion in 1 tbsp butter until onion is tender. Stir together milk and egg. Add to biscuit mix; stir just until moistened. Add the onion mixture, half the cheese, and half the poppy seed to biscuit mixture. Spread batter in prepared pan. Sprinkle w/ remaining cheese and poppy seed. Arrange cooked onion on top. Melt remaining 1 tbsp butter and drizzle over mixture in pan. Bake @ 400 for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm.

So I cut this into 8 pieces, and there were 2 left at midnight. Steve and I each had one, and we thought it was good. A couple people, but I can't remember who exactly, said it was good, too. So I'm keeping this one. You should try it.

Chicken Vegetable Bake

Hello girls. We had this last night. It was quite good, and it smelled so yummy while it was cooking. It's from the Better Homes & Gardens book.

Chicken Vegetable Bake
2 1/2 lbs meaty chicken pieces (breasts, thighs, & drumsticks)
1/2 cup flour
1 tbsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms (I left these out. Hate those slimy things)
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground ginger
dash salt
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped carrot
1 cup frozen small whole onions (I forgot to buy these, even though they were on my list...I just cut up a regular onion into little chunks)

Skin the chicken (so gross); rinse chicken and pat dry w/ paper towels. Place the flour, paprika, salt, and pepper in a ziploc bag. Add chicken, a few pieces at a time, and shake to coat. Set aside 2 tbsp of flour mixture. In a 12" skillet heat oil over medium heat. Add chicken and cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes, turning to brown evenly. Remove chicken from skillet to 3 quart baking dish. Set aside. In same skillet, add mushrooms to drippings (if you are using them). Cook and stir, scraping up browned bits, until shrooms are tender. Stir in reserved flour mixture, brown sugar, ginger, and dash of salt. Add water and orange juice concentrate all at once. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Stir in carrot and onions. Pour sauce over chicken in baking dish. Cover and bake @ 350 for one hour, or until chicken is no longer pink and vegetables are tender. Makes 6 servings.

So everyone ate this except poor little Nathan. The kids didn't make much comment, but Steve said it was really good and definitely a make again. So maybe try it if you want. Talk to you soon!!

Jiffy Orange Pancakes

As you may or may not be able to tell, I am in the breakfast section of this cookbook. This is the third and final recipe from this section. These were good, and if you are in need of a pancake recipe I would recommend it. However, I already have a great from-scratch pancake recipe that costs way less than this one, so I am not going to replace it. But it was good.

Jiffy Orange Pancakes
1 beaten egg
1 cup half and half or light cream (they said don't try to substitute milk because they did and they came out tough)(the pancakes, not the kitchen testers)
6 oz frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed (about 3/4 cup)
1 cup packaged regular pancake mix (not complete mix)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup margarine or butter, cut up (I put mine in whole and nothing bad happened)

Combine egg, half and half, and 1/4 cup of the orange juice concentrate. Add pancake mix. Stir until just combined but still slightly lumpy. Cook pancakes like you know you're supposed to (they have a long explanation but I'm assuming everyone knows how to do this. If not, see me after class). For sauce, in small saucepan combine sugar, butter, and other 1/2 cup of orange juice concentrate. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Serve the warm sauce over the pancakes (on each person's plate, not over the whole stack that you just made). Makes about 16 pancakes.

I doubled the recipe for the pancake part because I always burn a few and even if I hadn't, I knew 16 wouldn't be enough. But I only 1 1/2'd the sauce because I only had so much orange juice concentrate, but I had a lot of sauce left, so I think even if you double the pancakes you shouldn't double the sauce. Everyone loved the pancakes (except hapless Nathan. I didn't dare give him one). Emma wouldn't try the sauce though. Sam tried it but for his second helping had maple syrup. Steve had maple syrup on his 3rd serving =) So like I said, good but not good enough to replace my old standard. Talk to you guys soon!!

Sugar-Crusted French Toast

And that was the only crusted part. This was soggy soggy soggy. I almost doubled it, because the original recipe was only for 6 slices of bread, and that would only feed like me and Steve, not all of us (plus we had my sister's little girl that night, too). But I couldn't fit 12 pieces of bread in the 9x13 pan, so I did 10, but still doubled the eggs and milk....so that may have contributed to the sog factor. Well, here it is anyway, in it's not-doubled format

Sugar-Crusted French Toast
6 1-inch slices french bread
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp butter, melted
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (I just used the cinnamon/sugar I already had instead of mixing this new)

In small bowl, beat together eggs, milk, sugar, and vanilla. Place bread in 2 quart baking dish. Pour egg mixture over bread, turn to coat. Refrigerate 20 to 30 minutes or until egg mixture is absorbed. In a large skillet or on a griddle melt the 2 tbsp butter over medium heat. Cook bread on both sides for 2-3 minutes per side or until golden brown. Transfer to a baking sheet. Brush tops of bread with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Broil 4 inches from heat for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes or just until sugar is carmelized.

So there you have it. I am most likely not making this again, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't. Maybe if you just try it like it is and don't double it or something.

Farmer's Breakfast

Hi girls! Wednesday night we had this. But we almost never have breakfast for breakfast. At least not this involved. We usually have it for supper. This is the first one from the Better Homes & Gardens 75 Years of All-Time Favorites. You may or may not have noticed that I am not really a Better Homes & Gardens kind of girl. This cookbook was a gift. From the O'Prays, whom some of you may remember from New York. Anyway it was pretty good.

Farmer's Breakfast
2 tbsp cooking oil (as opposed to...motor oil?)
2 cups frozen diced hash brown potatoes with onions and peppers (I couldn't find these, so I just got the diced potatoes and added onion separately)
1 cup diced cooked ham
6 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I didn't think this was enough and used about 1/2 cup)

Coat large skillet with the oil. Add potatoes in a single layer. Cook, covered, over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes or until the potatoes are tender, stirring once. Stir in ham. Combine eggs and water and pour over ham-potato mixture. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat until eggs are just set, turning mixture occasionally with a wide spatula. Sprinkle with cheese and serve immediately.

This stuck to the pan really bad. I bet a whole egg was burnt onto the bottom of the pan. So maybe medium is too high on my stove, I don't know. I didn't "Pam" the pan, but I did use oil, so I'm not sure why this happened. Anyway Emma didn't like how the eggs and ham were touching. Sam liked it. So did Steve & I. I wasn't so crazy about it just because it was frustrating how bad it stuck. And, is it supposed to be like a huge omelet when it's done, or is it supposed to be like a big scramble? Ours ended up like a big scramble because if I had left it until it was like a big omelet it would've burned even worse. So I wasn't going to keep this one, but Steve wanted to. So now it's in the permanent file. Maybe some of you will have better luck. Anyway have a good day and I'll talk to you soon!!