What's Cookin': Berry Cheese Danish

I made danish for the first time in my life! It turned out so good, and it was so stinkin' easy I don't know why I've never tried it before now. A little time consuming, but easy. Seriously.

I had some blueberries that needed to be used, and I still have gallons of boysenberries from last year in my freezer. I need to get those out and make room for this years upcoming crop. So I hopped over to Pinterest (which is a horribly evil place, by the way) and after searching for "berry pastry" and lots of scrolling, found this recipe:

Raspberry Pastry Braids

And just used the blueberries and boysenberries I had to equal the same amount of berries from the recipe.

BUT, the recipe doesn't call for cream cheese filling. And I don't know about you, but to me, it ain't a danish if there ain't cream cheese filling. So here's my modification.

Cream Cheese Filling
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 egg yolk
1/2 C sugar

Beat all together until well blended. Spread on dough in 4 inch section before adding berry filling.

Then go on to follow the recipe as posted.

This is so delicious! I had some as a midnight snack... Don't judge. If you had been in my kitchen to smell it, you would have joined me. Then we had it for breakfast with coffee. And for snack. I will definitely be making this again, and already thinking of doing a batch with apples, or strawberries, or cherries....

The recipe makes a TON of pastry. It makes 4 very large danish braids, which was great for the 6 of us, but if you don't need as much I would halve the recipe. Or I'm sure any un-iced braids could be frozen and reheated later.

Happy Eating!
Meg

Homemade Living: Week 1

Welcome to Week One of the Homemade Living Series!

First, a little explanation of this new endeavor! Staci has invited five of us ladies to participate in this new series with her all about Homemade Living. Once a week, half of us will be posting anything that has to do with that idea - craft how to's, recipes, what's going on at our homesteads, etc. On our off weeks, we'll be linking to the other half of the ladies, so you won't have to miss a thing! Make sure you follow along with every to see what they are sharing.

Staci @ Life At Cobble Hill Farm
Tammy @ Our Neck Of The Woods
Daisy @ My Maple Hill Farm
Amber @ Making A Home
Mary @ Home Grown On The Hill

Now, as I sit here with a cup of green ginger tea, and I try to rescue what's left of my sanity after a day of crazed boys and a wild puppy.... Let's get on with the show!

This week I wanted to share a recipe for Zucchini Pickles. Since I'm sure everyone is probably drowning in zucchini by now! (Oddly enough, I'm not. I planted two zucchini plants this year and have hardly gotten anything. In fact my entire garden has hardly given me anything. I'm a little miffed. But I digress...)

These pickles are really good! They taste exactly like a Bread & Butter cucumber pickles, but are not quite as crisp. I've enjoyed them on buttered saltines for a snack, or with a bit of cheddar cheese.

Zucchini Pickles - makes about six pints
14 C zucchini, sliced at about 1/4 inch
1/2 C pickling salt
Cool water
6 C white vinegar
4 C granulated sugar
4 tsp mustard seed
2 tsp celery seeds
2 tsp ground turmeric

In a very large stainless steel or glass bowl layer the zucchini with pickling salt. Cover with cool water and let stand at room temperature for 2 hours. Transfer to a colander and drain, then rinse and drain again thoroughly.

In a large stainless steel or enameled pot, combine the vinegar, sugar, mustard seed, celery seed and turmeric. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat and boil gently for 5 minutes. Stir in the zucchini, remove from heat and let stand for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, prepare the jars and canner - Wash jars, lids and rings with hot soapy water. Place the lids in a saucepan, cover with water and bring to a simmer. Place jars in the canner, add enough water to cover by at least one inch and bring to a simmer. Keep jars hot until read to fill.

After the hour is up, bring the pot of zucchini to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and boil gently for 5 minutes until heated through.

Pack zucchini into hot jars to within a generous 1/2 inch headspace. Ladle hot pickling liquid into jars to cover vegetables, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and add more liquid if necessary to keep 1/2 inch headspace. Place lids and rings on jars.

Process in water bath for 10 minutes. 

Staci and Amber are also posting this week! Be sure to visit them!

Staci @ Life At Cobble Hill Farm
Amber @ Making A Home

 Happy Eating!
~ Meg

Things I've Been Doin'

I've done a lot of stuff lately that I just hadn't blogged about because... well I forgot.

The memory's the first thing to go!

So, in no particular order I've been....

Pickling cherries. Aren't they pretty? I've never had a pickled cherry and I'm very curious about them. I will let them sit a few more days to pickle, then I will try them.

Making Laundry Soap. For the first time, unbelievably! The stuff I've been buying has been going up and up and up in price. What got me to finally do it was my sister, who was going to make her own and was asking me about the ingredients. Well I told her she couldn't make laundry soap before I did! So she got the stuff and came over last Saturday and we made a big batch and split it. We used Staci's recipe for dry soap, and it works AMAZINGLY well!

Makin' more jam! After the apricot jam I made a batch each of Strawberry and Boysenberry. I'll make at least one more batch of each to keep us and family members stocked through the year. I love how quick jam making is.

Making Sauerkraut. I'm not sure how to make funky cabbage look appetizing... I set it to ferment at the beginning of last month and let it go for a few days before I put it in the fridge. Ben finally got around to trying it with bratwurst the other night and said it's very salty, but good. I told him we could just rinse it next time. I haven't tried it.... I'm kind of scared of it. I know it's kind of silly since I made it, but I wasn't super fond of the store bought stuff either so this... Kinda weirds me out! Haha.

Working on my sweater. The sleeves are attached and now I am decreasing for the neckline and working the yoke. After that is just the collar and then blocking! I'm really excited, and my sister has already said she'd like one too if this turns out well.

Finishing school. Today we finished our first year of kindergarten! I'm not quiet sure how I feel about it. Not the school itself, that was great! But the fact that my little boys are now out of kindergarten and next year we start first grade.... Probably doesn't help that on Sunday I put away all the little baby clothes and we set aside all of our baby things for when my sister starts having babies.... I won't lie, I cried. And I still cry a little bit...

My mom-in-love came by yesterday and brought me all of her first grade curriculum, plus some cool books for boys. I'm all set up and now I just have to plan when we'll be starting, and our breaks and such. 


I've also been planning a giveaway, in honor of this being my 600th post (wow!) and I now have 55 followers (super wow! You guys are so sweet!).

Things have to settle down a bit, so I will probably announce it next week!

Happy Almost Friday! (I'm in denial that this week isn't over yet.)
Meg

What's Cookin': Zucchini Bread & Apricot Jam

Sorry this is not a sexy picture. And yes, it's half eaten. My sister helped. :P

My brother's girlfriend's sweet and always smiling mama asked if I could share my recipes for zucchini bread & apricot jam, as she is also drowning in produce. Because it's southern California and that's what happens in June. By July we are sick of produce! Haha. So here are the recipes for her, and anyone else who would like them!

The zucchini bread recipe is from my mom, who made it my entire childhood and we're all kind of attached to it. The apricot jam recipe is just from the little insert that comes with the liquid pectin.

I made a few modifications to the bread and the jam, so I will post the recipes as they read, and then give you my notes at the end.

Zucchini Bread
3 C flour
1 1/2 C sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 C olive oil
3 C shredded zucchini
3 C raisins
1 C chopped nuts

Heat oven to 350*. Whisk together first 6 ingredients. in another bowl beat together the eggs, vanilla, and oil. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour the wet mixture over the flour mixture and stir until thoroughly mixed. Pour batter into a greased and floured bundt pan. Bake 50 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

You could also divide the batter into lined or greased & floured muffin tins and bake about 25 minutes. 

~ This time around I used 2 C AP flour and one cup of whole wheat. I think I might use 2 cups whole wheat next time. I also only used 1 cup of sugar, as well as only used 1/2 C olive oil and used apple sauce for the other half cup. (Did you know you can use apple sauce in place of the oil in most baked goods? Some things turn out a bit denser, and some don't, but either way it's very tasty!)  

Apricot Jam - makes 7 cups (I got 5 half pints, see my notes)
3 1/2 C finely chopped apricots (about 2 1/2 pounds)
1/3 C fresh lemon juice
5 3/4 C sugar
1 pouch liquid pectin

Wash your jars and boil them in your water bath canner to sterilize. Place lids in a saucepan. Leave jars in the hot water until ready to fill. (I just turn them down to simmer after about 10 minutes of boiling.) Ladle enough of the boiling water onto your lids to cover them.

Add chopped apricots, sugar and lemon juice to a heavy, 6-7 quart pot and bring to a full rolling boil (one that won't stir down), while stirring. Add liquid pectin, return to rolling boil and boil for 1 minute.

Ladle jam into hot jars to within an 1/8th inch head space. Lid and band them, tightening bands to fingertip tight. Process 10 minutes.

~ I have this little naughty voice in my head that says it's really wrong to put more sugar than fruit into a recipe. I'm a terrible person. So I only used 3 cups of sugar, and that's why I only got 5 half pints. I know that this means my jam will probably not set, especially since apricots are particularly low in natural pectin. Shame on me. I guess I'll just have very tasty apricot syrup! :)

When I finally get around to making strawberry and boysenberry jam (hopefully this week, if I can get to the store and get more pectin), I will post the recipe for those as well!

** Ok funny story before I go. Ben left when I was starting this post to go hang out with one of his buddies. I needed a picture of the zucchini bread for the post and since the lighting in the kitchen was giving me a yellow tinge, I decided I would go out into the garage where there is better lighting... Well while I was standing there the garage starts opening and I freeze, holding my camera (he had forgotten something and came back to get it). He hops out of the truck, starts laughing and asks me what on earth I'm doing.

*ahem* I am NOT taking pictures of the zucchini bread on the washer.... You saw nothing. Get back in your truck... (now I feel really weird!)


Happy Eating,
Meg

P.S. For those of you who go to the recipe page, I am working on relinking everything and redoing the list since it all broke when I changed the blog name. Please be patient with me as I (slowly) try to get it all back to normal. :)

Today is Friday - And I'm Talking About Food!

And aren't you excited?!

I am swimming in produce!

Yesterday my grandmother texted me (my over 70 year old grandmother texts. It makes me giggle) and said they were picking the cherries and did I want some?

Umm, YES! I love cherries. They are my absolute favorite fruit. Even more than strawberries. So I was very excited when she asked, and I we rushed right over.

When I got there her and Poppi had gotten the tree about halfway picked, leaving the stuff that couldn't really be reached from the ladder. With a little thinking we were able to bend the limbs over and Poppi held them down standing on one ladder while I climbed a ladder a few feet away and picked the branches clean. It worked great! And the only one we couldn't get was the limb in the middle.

They also have an apricot tree that is so full of fruit it's ridiculous. So many apricots!

So I brought home 14 pounds of apricots and about 8 pounds of cherries. I have two trays of apricot puree drying in the oven to make fruit leather.

I just stuffed my food processor of pitted apricots, added a little lemon juice to keep the color, and pureed. Then I added honey until it tasted right then poured it into a baking sheet that I lined with plastic. The oven is supposed to be at 140* for drying, but mine only goes to 170* so I crack the door to let out the extra heat and any steam that might come off the fruit.

I also made 5 half pints of apricot jam this morning after breakfast. I've had one single pouch of liquid pectin and I have been saving it for something that really needed it. This was the thing! Now I just need to get more pectin for the berries, heh.

I was naughty though, and only used half the sugar. I don't like my jams overly sweet, and wanted to be able to taste the fruit. I figure if it doesn't set all the way, oh well I'll just have apricot syrup. 

Last night I made some stewed cherries to serve over ice cream. I just pitted them, put them in a saucepan with a little bit of water and a sprinkle of brown sugar. Covered them until they came to a boil, then took the lid off and let them simmer until they became soft and saucy. Oh my goodness. They were so good. I love warm fruit over vanilla ice cream, and these were especially good.

The rest of the cherries and apricots will probably be halved and dried to snack on.

Mimi also gave me a few very large zucchinis, so I guess I will be making zucchini bread today!

Last night I picked our first cabbage! They've taken insanely long to grow, but it was finally big enough last night to pick. It wasn't huge - maybe 2 pounds at the most - but it was delicious!

I also picked my first two garlic scapes. I've heard of how good they are, but I have never had them. I sauteed them in a little butter and we just ate them like that. They are really good! They tasted like roasted garlic - that soft, sweet, lightly garlic taste.

I also got my first three tiny cherry tomatoes last weekend and I made them into a delicious bruschetta on toasted french bread. Now I am waiting for my other tomatoes to ripen so that I can have more.

I'm so excited that summer - and all of it's bountiful goodness - is finally here!


~Meg

Don't Buy It: Croutons!

Now that the whole blog renaming fiasco is over with... Gosh what a mess. I really hope it updated everyone's feed and didn't get lost. How about a recipe?

I have a unnatural completely normal love of croutons. I love them on salads, like them in soups, and have been known to snack on half a bag before dinner...

I've tried making my own before, but they always wound up being burned to a non-tasty crisp whether I tired making them under the broiler or frying them in a pan or any other method.

Then Ben got me Jaques Pepin's Essential Pepin for Christmas. We watch his show on PBS and he's so charming and wonderful and he makes me want to make everything he cooks, even if we really would never eat it (like liver pate wrapped in cucumber and topped with roe.) I wish he was my grandpa!

Anyway, he has a few different soup recipes that use these croutons and they have been the easiest, quickest, and most delicious things I have ever tasted. I've made them three times already and they've turned out perfectly every time. I've been adding a bit of salt, garlic powder and onion powder for extra flavor, but they are really good with just the olive oil. My favorite part is that this is just one more skill/recipe I can tuck into my pocket and I never have to buy these again! Plus they are a great use for leftover bread that needs to be used up.

Homemade Croutons
3-4 slices stale bread of just about any type
1-2 Tbs olive oil
My Optional addition: Salt & seasonings

Preheat oven to 400*.
Cube bread into bite sized (around 1 inch) pieces.
Pour olive oil into the middle of a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle on some salt and seasonings if you like. Add bread on top of oil, then toss with fingers to coat evenly.
 Bake 8-10 minutes, tossing half way through to brown evenly. 

Happy Eating!
Meg

Apples and Sauce

It's apple season! I love this time of year, not only because of the delicious apples, but the beautiful weather that goes along with them.

On Saturday we made a trip to an apple farm about an hour out of town. My sole purpose was to get apples for making sauce. And I picked up a few for snacks... I probably would have bought out the whole farm if I had the room in the car. Fresh apples are the best heaven on earth.

Yesterday I turned 20 pounds of these

into this

which then became 13 of those lovely pints you see in the top picture. The boys had a few bowlfuls for lunch, including the baby who, after the first bite, responded by opening his mouth very wide and lunging for the spoon. I think he liked it.

I used mostly Golden Blush, with a few (maybe 4 or 5) Red Delicious thrown in. I also added a bit of cinnamon, since I like spiced applesauce. The apples are so delicious on their own that I only added a tiny bit of sugar - a half, maybe three quarters of a cup total for all 20 pounds. I just doubled the juice and cinnamon in the recipe for my 20 pounds.

Applesauce - makes 8 pints or 4 quarts
12 pounds apples, peeled, cored and quartered*
Up to 3 cups sugar - optional and to taste
4 Tbs bottled lemon juice
1-2 tsp cinnamon

Place apple chunks into a large pot with just enough water to prevent sticking. Bring to a boil over medium high heat and boil until apples are soft. Let cool slightly.

Working in batches, transfer to a food mill or food processor and puree apples. Return to pot, adding sugar and lemon juice. Bring to a boil and stir to prevent sticking, then keep at a low simmer while filling jars.

Fill sterilized jars to 1/2" headspace. Water bath both pints & quarts for 20 minutes.

*I left all of mine with the peels and cores intact, removing nothing but the stem and chopping them into quarters. Then I just ran them through my food mill/strainer and it worked perfectly. So much less work, and so much quicker.

I still have quite a few Golden Blush left, which I think I will use the make turnovers or some delicious dessert!

Happy Eating,
Meg

Eating The Harvest: Stuffed Zucchini!

"Sookini"

Hey look a recipe! Haven't had one of those in awhile.

I don't have a picture because... Well because we ate it before I could take one!

Have you ever turned your back on a zucchini plant for a day or two and wound up with ridiculously sized zucchini?

This year, having plants that actually produce things now (as opposed to last year, which was a bust), we are starting to be invaded by the long green monsters. I had sort of thought about trying stuffed zucchini, but didn't think I had any big enough. I walked out back, since it had been a few days, thinking maybe I would get lucky and 'Lo and Behold! A giant "Sookini"! Perfect!

So, here is what I did last night to make stuffed zucchini. I looked up a recipe, but just kind of winged it aside from the oven temp and tomato sauce part.

Stuffed Zucchini
1 large zucchini
1 lb ground beef
1/2 onion, diced
1 C cooked rice (leftover from the night before!)
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 C marinara/spaghetti/tomato sauce (you know, whatever ya' got)
A bit of swiss or mozzarella (shredded or sliced)

Preheat oven to 350*.

Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. You may need to dig out a bit of extra flesh in order to make a generous sized cavity for the meat.

Place meat, onion, rice, egg and seasonings into a large bowl, along with about a third of the seeds/flesh that you have chopped. Mix together really well.

Stuff into the zucchini "boats". It will be mounded way over the top, that's ok.

Place stuffed zucchini into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish, then spoon tomato sauce over the top. Cover with however much cheese you like.

Bake for about 1 hour - 1 hour 15 minutes until meat is cooked through.

I am happily surprised to say that everyone ate this! And it was surprisingly delicious! The kids even ate a bit of the zucchini even though they're not big fans. (Except Duder. He eats "every stuff" - his words.) I think I'll be making this more often as a good way to use up those giant zuccs.

Happy Eating,
Meg

A Post About Food

The book that has been expanding my waistline...

It seems my life has been chock full of food lately, so I figured I would share it all with you.

~ I made some Giant Molasses Cookies last week from the Taste of Home Cookie magazine and they are really good. They came out crunchy though. I'm not a big crunchy cookie fan - I like mine chewy. But they are still good and are even better dipped in coffee. ;) (I wanted to link you the recipe, but apparently it's a member exclusive. So go get the book!)

~ Ben gave me permission to try red sauce enchiladas, and I found a really, stupidly simple recipe for Enchilada sauce.

Easy Enchilada Sauce
1/4 C vegetable oil (I used lard)
2 Tbs flour
1/4 C chili powder
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 1/2 C water
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
Salt to taste

Heat the oil in a skillet and add the flour and chili powder. Cook over medium heat until lightly browned, stirring constantly (we're making a roux).

Slowly stir in the water, tomato sauce, and spices. Continue cooking approximately 10 minutes, or until thickened slightly. Adjust salt to taste.

I stuffed mine with some leftover pork and monterey jack and they tasted just like restaurant enchiladas. Delicious. (Oh and he said I could make them again. :D)

~ I have found the best way to make crisp oven fries. Coat them in flour! After years of trying to get decent fries I finally decided to try making them similar to the recipe I have been using for "Crispy Potato Cubes". I just cut them up into fry shapes, toss them in flour, then pour some oil onto the baking sheet and toss the flour-covered potatoes in the oil. Bake at 475 degrees for 20 minutes, stir them up and bake another 20 minutes or until desired crispy-ness. Toss with seasoned salt. So good!

~ My baby sister's wedding is this Saturday and she asked if I could make some caramels to go on the dessert table. Sure! Shouldn't be a problem at all!

Until I tried to actually make them and the little man woke up half way through and started getting really, really mad. Candy making is not something you can just walk away from, so I tried to rush it and didn't *quite* get it up to the right temperature. Well, rushing isn't something you can do with candy either. I wound up with a really nice caramel sauce, but it wouldn't harden past that.

So, in effort to save it, I made these Caramel Butter-Pecan Bars. They turned out great! And I'm so glad I was able to do something and avoid a total loss (and try yet another recipe from The Book).  They will be going to the church kitchen tonight to get them ready for the wedding.

~ That cookie book is dangerous. ;)

What have you been cooking lately?
Meg

What's Cookin: Granola

Here is the recipe I came up with, as promised. It is really good. The kids had a cupful for snack yesterday and came in asking for more. I had it for breakfast this morning and I love how it's lightly sweet, but not overly so. And I know exactly what's in it.

Granola - Makes about 10 cups

6 Cups rolled (old fashion) oats
2 Cups chopped nuts
2 Cups shredded coconut
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 Cup butter, melted
1/2 Cup honey
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a (really) large bowl mix together oats, nuts, coconut and cinnamon. In a separate bowl mix together butter, honey and vanilla until well combined. Stir into oat mixture and combine until everything is well coated (you might have better luck with your hands).

Spread mixture out onto a large sheet pan (or two, of you have small ones). Bake for 10 minutes. Stir, then bake for another 10 minutes. Stir again, then cook for 5-10 more minutes or until it starts to become a nice golden color.

Let cool completely before storing in jars or a ziplock bag. At this point you could also stir in any extras like dried fruit or chocolate chips if you'd like.

Happy Eating,
Meg

What's Cookin: Tortilla Crisps

It seems like my kids are always hungry. Always. Especially after nap time. While I try not to let them get too full in the hours before dinner, they do need something to hold them over or I get the Monsters From Hell syndrome out of all of them.

Usually it's a piece of bread and butter, or a piece of cheese and/or fruit, or whatever baked good I have on the counter. Well, I've been lazy about the baking lately so yesterday when snack time came about I didn't have much.

I opened the fridge and there were some tortillas and hey! Here's ya a snack.

Tortilla Crisps - makes as many as you want
Flour Tortillas
Cinnamon & Sugar mixed together
Melted Butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Brush tortillas with melted butter and sprinkle with however much cinnamon and sugar mixture you want. Cut tortillas into eights an lay out on a cookie sheet/baking tray.

Pop into the oven for 5-15 minutes. You're looking for crispy and just starting to brown on the edges. Remove and let cool for a few minutes before eating.

They disappeared really fast. ;)

You could also do the same thing with a number of different spice mixtures like garlic and onion, or chili powder, or whatever.

Happy Eating,
Meg

How I Plan Menus

Planning ahead is one of my big ways to keep on budget for groceries. I thought I would share how I do it for anyone who is curious or wanting to know how to start.

We shop every two weeks, with one big trip at the beginning of the month for the bulk items and things that last awhile plus fresh stuff for two weeks, and the second one for just the fresh stuff like milk and produce.

I know everyone says to "shop the flyers" and while I do pick up certain things we use if they are on sale, I don't base my menus solely on the flyers themselves.

I start off with my menu sheet. It is a list of meals we like, broken up into categories like "Chicken", "Soup", "Meat Free", etc. Those make up the first column. The second, third and fourth columns are Side Dishes, Breakfasts and Snacks respectively. This master list lets me pick pre-approved meals that I know we like (or mostly like) without having to wrack my brain every week trying to remember things.

At one point I had set lists that included the main dish and all the sides in one chunk, but I don't always want greasy potatoes and salad with my chicken, so I broke it up and now just pick a few sides to go with a main. The lists of breakfasts and snacks are really just to remind me what we need to have on hand such as eggs for breakfast and fresh fruits for snacks.

Master Grocery List

Next, I print out a calendar for the month from my email program and my Master Grocery List. Printing the calendar just insures that major holidays and birthdays are listed out so I can plan around them. You can just use a piece of paper that says "Monday, Tuesday...." on it if you'd like. Once the calendar is printed out I add any upcoming appointments so I know if I need to use the crock pot or something that day if I won't be home until later. I have a copy of my grocery list available to download here if you'd like somewhere to start.

So far we have three pieces of paper:

• The meal list
• The calendar (or blank page to write down the week's menu)
• The grocery shopping list (or blank page to write down what you need)

 Now it's as simple as filling in the menu. Since we shop every two weeks, I make a plan for two weeks. Since I am using what I have this month, I will be choosing Main Dish items that include the meats and ingredients I already have and will be trying not to buy too much.

For example, I have a pack of chicken leg quarters, so on Sunday we will have BBQ Leg Quarters, Crispy Potatoes, Rolls, and probably a salad. Monday I will probably try a recipe for Chicken Enchiladas that uses Chili Verde sauce (since I have chicken, tortillas, and the chili verde sauce already) and serve them with rice.

I try to leave at least one night a week open for eating up leftovers. If we get to that night and don't really have leftovers then I will do something simple like sandwiches since I usually have the makings on hand.

Once I have written down my menus, I go through each day one by one and mark on my grocery list what I don't have. Since I have "salad" on the menu for Sunday, but I am out of lettuce, I need to mark that on the list. I'm pretty sure I have everything I need for the Enchiladas, but I will double check the recipe to make sure. I continue in this fashion for the rest of the week's meals as well. Make sure to double check all the ingredients of your main dish - including spices and condiments - and mark those on the list as well. If your Chicken Pot Pie calls for carrots and mustard, you'll need to make sure you have those on hand or put them on your list to avoid making a last minute trip to the store.

Next I will go through and mark down our regular staples that don't really appear on the menu.  Things like milk, butter, eggs, cheese and flour. Things we use every month. That was actually the reason I made the Master Grocery List, so I could look at it and be reminded to check the amount of yeast (or toilet paper, or oatmeal) I had left and if we needed to get more.

After that I mark/write down any extra or special things we want like chips, or if we want corn dogs, or things like that. Things that aren't necessary, but are a nice treat if there's room for them. What is or isn't a need for your list will depend on your family. Some people can't live without ice cream *cough* while others can.

One extra step I do is to write down the prices next to each thing I have checked on the grocery list. I keep a price book and know what the general prices are, so if I have marked down to get 5 gallons of milk that are usually $3/gallon, then I will put "15.00" next to the milk item. When I am done making my list then I add everything up and see where I am at. If I think it's a little high, or it will just plain put us over budget, then I will take out anything we don't really need (like the chips).

Tada! That's really it. And it really doesn't take much time at all once you get the system down. I can have menus planned and grocery lists made in about 15-20 minutes most times. The hardest part is just picking what to eat.

I usually keep the Master Grocery List on the fridge so we can mark things off during the week as we run out of them.

So, to recap, or the short version since I'm not sure my rambling on makes any sense:

• Start with a Master Menu plan that lists the foods your family likes. This will make planning menus faster and easier.
• Fill in your menu, using the meal list, on a calendar or piece of paper
• Go through your menu and mark down any ingredients/items you will need but don't have onto your grocery list (do you have enough chicken for enchiladas? tortillas? cheese?)
• Next, write down staples on your grocery list that you need that aren't on your menu already (eggs, flour, etc)
• Finally, write down any extra or special things onto your grocery list (like snacks or treats)
• Keep a running tally of your prices, if you can, so you know where you stand before you get to the store. This will help avoid the "Oh, that was more than I thought" problem at checkout.
• Go shopping! And stick to your list! 

A couple of notes:

• I try to leave a bit of room every month for things that might go on sale, like meats or sodas, or things like that. Stocking up when I can has saved us a bit of money in the long run.
• I only really plan for dinners, since breakfasts are usually eggs or oatmeal and lunches are leftovers or sandwiches. But if you need to plan for breakfast and lunch each day as well, put them on your menu and add the items needed to your list.
•  I have tried a few times to change my system and it usually tends to blow up in my face. This is the system that works best for us, so maybe it will work for you too.

But don't be discouraged! If you try this for a few weeks and you're still having trouble try changing it a bit. Maybe you'd work better as a "from the sales flyer" family. Each family is different, so each budget and shopping method will be different.

I can tell you that staying out of the store is the best way to save money, so try to go once a week, once every two weeks, or even once a month if you can stretch it that far. And of course, you will save a ton of money buy getting things in their rawest possible form - like produce and meats - rather than pre-prepped stuff.

I hope that wasn't too confusing!

Happy Menu Planning,
Meg

Waste Not, And Then Some

When we went about canning apples last week, I wanted to find something to do with the peels. I couldn't stand the thought of throwing all that good stuff away that came curling off the peeler-corer. My initial thought was to dredge and fry the peeling strings, but we decided to put them in a pot with the cores, add some water, and simmer for a good while to get the goodness out of them.

What I wound up with was about 10 cups of pink colored apple "extract", which I decided to turn into apple jelly yesterday.

I strained the juice through a tea towel to get the settlement out of it, and turned 8 cups of the liquid into 5 jelly jars, 4 pints, and a wee one into the prettiest (and quit tasty) batch of jelly. It's definitely apple when you taste it, but it's not too over powering. I do wish I had lowered the sugar, since I'm finding I don't like my jelly too sweet, but I was afraid it wouldn't set and didn't have any low sugar pectin. So happy with the way it turned out though!

And today I needed to make bread to go with the jelly, of course (well, and we were out). 2 loaves.

And I figured since I had the mixer out and was making bread anyways, I might as well make up a batch of the Cinnamon Swirl Bread I saw over at Life At Cobble Hill Farm (thanks Staci! It's wonderful). 3 loaves.

And a batch of Oatmeal Cookies. You know, since the mixer was still out. 4 dozen.

If you give a mouse a cookie, and all. ;)

Happy Thursday!
Meg

Apples, Apples, Apples!

Oh gosh, never mind the Campbell's. I bought them and never used them and am ashamed to have over-sodiumed canned soup in my pantry.

On the very first day of October I joined my mom and grandmother on their trip to go get apples from a neighboring town.

What I came back with was about 32 pounds of apples - A big box of Empires, a large bag of Jonagolds and a small bag of Braeburns.

The following Thursday we canned apples and my one box made 12 quart jars of beautiful appley-goodness to put up.

We have been enjoying apples for snacks, stewed apples with dinner (apples simmered in a bit of butter and spices) and of course....

Apple Pie!! I don't know why, but I was so scared to make a pie this year. I haven't made an apple pie in over two years. I've made plenty of chicken pot pie, so it didn't make sense. But my crust never turns out quite right and for some reason Apple Pie just needed to be perfect.

Well. I'm just gonna toot my own horn here for a second and tell you this crust turned out AMAZING. Hehe. I knew it was good when Ben started cutting into it and it made the most delicious, crispy, flaky sound I've ever heard. We both kind of stopped and giggled about it.

The trick I finally found? Once you cut in your fats you add the water in while fluffing the dough with a fork. Not a spoon, like I've done. Not mixing it with your hands, like I've done. Fluff with a fork so there's as little smushing as possible. Now, the sad part is the Betty Crocker recipe I've been using for years actually says this, but since when do I listen, eh? Teach me... Do it like it says next time. Turned. Out. Perfect.

The only problem with the trip is I wish Ben could have gone (working) and I had gotten more to put up (trying not to be greedy/overwhelm myself). But I think I might just go back and get more.... ;)

Happy Tuesday,
Meg

What's Cookin: Hushpuppies

Have you ever bitten into a piece of food and had a memory flood over you? I had remembered hush puppies as I read the recipe, but the memory attached to them didn't come to life so vividly until I tasted them today.

When we were younger my dad would take us kids on "dates". We would go to a restaurant called the Hush Puppy and have dinner,  then listen to whatever band was playing that night if there was one. They would serve hush puppies as the pre-dinner snack as opposed to chips or bread. I don't really remember any of the other food, but I remember those hush puppies and the taste of them brings back those nights having dinner with just dad and my siblings and how fun it was.

I have been reading The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery (I actually checked it out from the library again because I didn't finish it the first time and love it). I'm in the section on planting, growing and using corn and this recipe for hush puppies was in there. For some reason I read the recipe and then stood up and walked into the kitchen to make them. That never happens. :)

Hushpuppies
1 C corn meal
1 C flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
Dash of salt
As much onion as you like (I did half a large), chopped
1 egg, beaten
Milk

Mix together corn meal, flour, soda, salt and onion. Stir in egg and enough milk to make a thick batter. Fry in a skillet of oil until browned on bottom, then flip over and brown the other side. Remove and drain on paper towels. 

I used grapeseed oil with a bit of bacon grease added in for flavor and they are wonderfully delicious. They weren't too hard either (just mix and fry!) and didn't make so much of a mess to turn me off from making them again. I'll probably be making these for snacks or a dinner side pretty often.

I ate 3 as they came out of the pan. The kids asked for more and more and I had to turn them away lest they ruin their dinner.

Happy Eating,
Meg

What's Cookin': Vanilla Wafers

I wanted to post about rude, over-opinionated, child hating people who can't keep their damn mouths shut (When did "You know, you can get that fixed" replace "Congratulations!" ?!? And what business is it of theirs how many children we have? We can pay for and care for every one. It's not like we're on welfare. And when did 4 become a large number?? Oops, I guess I'm posting about it...), but I'm so stupidly angry about it, how about I share this delicious recipe for Vanilla Wafers instead?

Because it really is so good. I've had the recipe bookmarked for awhile but haven't had the chance to make them. Plus it takes a stick of butter and it's hard for me to let go of my butter in big chunks. I'm so glad I did for this recipe. They taste like the boxed stuff! Only better!

The recipe I used called for vanilla seeds scraped from the bean, but I don't just have those lying around my kitchen, so I omitted them. If you can get your hands on them, it calls for 1 whole bean's worth of seeds mixed in with the butter and sugar.

Here we go!

Vanilla Wafers - Makes about 4 cups (ish)
8 Tbs (1 stick) butter, softened
1/4 tsp salt
1 C sugar
1 large egg white
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbs milk
1 1/3 C AP flour
3/4 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350*.
With an electric mixer cream butter, salt and sugar until light.
Beat in egg white until well incorporated, scraping sides of bowl to mix well.
Beat in extract and milk until well incorporated.
Mix together flour and baking power and add to butter mixture. Mix well.
Fill a plastic zip bag with dough and snip off the end (or use a pastry bag with a plain attachment. Zip bags are easier to clean up though - trash can!).
Pipe dough onto cookie sheets into nickle sized mounds about 1 inch apart.
Bake for 15 -20 minutes until lightly browned, rotating every 5 minutes or so for even coloring. Cool before storing. 

These were so stinking easy it seriously took me only about 10 minutes to mix it up and pipe it. I'm thinking I'll have to use these to make a Banana Cream Pie... ;)

Happy Eating,
Meg

What's Cookin': Country Casserole

Have you felt there is something missing from your life? You've searched and searched and have not found fulfillment? You're floating through life, wondering what's next?

Well I'm here to make everything better! After eating this you can die happily, knowing your life is now complete.

I came up with this the other night when I had intended to make my sausage and potato casserole but then went in an almost completely different direction. After some suggestions from Ben, a little tweaking, and a second try for dinner tonight, I have deemed this ready for the masses. And oh, is it good. Ben grunting good.

I've named it Country Casserole from it's use of "country" style white gravy. (Or at least what I consider country gravy.) It's the part of the dish that really rounds it out and brings everything together. We've had it for dinner both times, but I have thoughts that it would also make a wonderful Sunday breakfast. And the leftovers are even better!

That's a Cheddar Garlic Dill biscuit in the back there.

Country Casserole - feeds about 6-8 (with or without leftovers, depending on hunger)
4 potatoes with skin on, diced
8-10 oz breakfast sausage
1/2 large onion, diced
6 eggs, beaten
2 C country gravy
1 C shredded cheddar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a casserole dish.

In a large skillet scramble eggs in a bit of butter over medium heat. Set aside in a large bowl. Clean out the pan, add a bit of oil, then cook the sausage and onions together until sausage is cooked through. Add to eggs. Add in potatoes and stir to combine.

Pour into greased dish, cover with gravy and top with shredded cheese. Bake about 40 minutes, until potatoes are cooked through.

*You can use either gravy from a mix, or make from scratch: Make a roux with 4 Tbs butter and 4 Tbs flour and let cook but not brown. Whisk in 2 cups of milk and season with a pinch of salt, about a tsp of chicken bouillon (secret ingredient!) and copious amounts of ground pepper. Adjust salt to taste. (Or you can use Wondra gravy flour which is what I do because it's a wonderful, beautiful, non-lumping thing that requires no pre-cooking. Thanks Nancy!)

Happy Delicious Eating,
Meg

What's Cookin': Sizzler's Cheese Toast

I'm posting two recipes today, so don't forget to check out Honey Mustard Pork Chops!

If you've ever been inside a Sizzler restaurant you know the wonder and deliciousness that is this toast. The buttery, cheesy crispiness.

If you've never had this toast, your life is missing something very crucial. But I'm going to fix that today.

Trying to figure out what to serve with pork chops the other night, I had an idea. I love this toast, but had no idea what went into it. A quick internet search produced the recipe and wow is it stupid easy.

I cut the recipe to our needs, but you could double it for a whole loaf. 

Cheese Toast
1 stick (1/2 C) butter, softened
1/4-1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese (depending on your cheese loving)
1/2 loaf of bread, sliced thickly (about 1 inch)

Preheat a griddle or large pan. Mix together butter and cheese. Thickly slather onto bread. VERY thickly. Place pieces of bread onto pan butter side down and allow to cook until cheese is golden brown and crispy. 

Happy Eating,
Meg

What's Cookin': Honey Mustard Pork Chops

Since one of the challenges of the month was only buying meat under $2.00 a pound, I picked up some pork chops the other day since they were the ONLY thing (aside from whole chickens) that were under 2 bucks. And then I had to figure out what to do with them. One night was carnitas in the crock pot. And the other night...

These! And there were delicious. I love honey mustard anything, so this was already going to be a win, but they turned out wonderful. The only downside? Cooking them made a mess with splatters, but it's all good.

The sauce did turn out a bit watery, so if you'd like it a bit thick you can simmer it for longer. 

Honey Mustard Porkchops
1 Tbs oil
4-5 pork chops (boneless or bone-in), about 1 inch thick
Salt & pepper to taste
2 Tbs honey
2 Tbs Dijon mustard
1/3 C chicken broth
Pinch of cayenne
1 tsp cold butter

Heat the oil in a skillet over med-high heat. Season the pork with salt & pepper on both sides, then place in the pan. Cook for about 3-5 minutes on each side, depending on the "doneness" you want. Remove from the pan and set aside on a plate.

Add the broth, honey, mustard and cayenne to the pan. Whisk together and let come to a simmer. Add the butter and swirl around in the pan until melted. Add the pork chops back in along with any juices. Coat with sauce. Serve with sauce drizzled on top.

Happy Eating,
Meg

Goodies For You!

Full Page

If y'all haven't noticed by now, I love to cook. Feeding people - stuffing them to the brim, really - makes me happy. And I have a lot of recipes.

I've tried a few different ways to keep our favorites organized.

I've tried keeping them bookmarked (if they're on the internet) and printing them out as needed. Waste of paper. I've tried keeping the print outs in a binder, but my OCD nature doesn't like how they aren't uniform.

I've tried that Demy thing that my grandmother got me for Christmas but I just tend to reach for the books and papers more often, plus whenever I try to use it the battery is dead, which doesn't help me at all.

I've even tried making my own typed out recipe pages complete with a picture of the dish, but it's really too much work and I realized...

Nothing can beat the simple, nostalgic pleasure of writing down your favorite recipes with a pencil.

So, I made up a few "blank" pages and wanted to share them with y'all.

Half page

Two styles: Full page, for those big recipes and Half page which has two recipes on a single page. They are for 8.5 x 11 pages. The half pages can be left whole, or cut in half for a little recipe card style.


Full Page - Download via Google Docs
Half Page - Download via Google Docs

Happy Eating,
Meg