Thursday, December 5, 2019

Thanksgiving Recipes - Pies

These are already Posted for Pies -
Go to the post on 4/2/13 for the best pie crust recipe.

Then go to  11/28/16 for Jenna's three good pie recipes - Pumpkin, Pecan, and Apple

There are good recipes for French Silk Pie, Pecan Pie and a Lemon Meringue Pie in the New Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook (1989) that we have used too.

French Silk Pie (p.292)
1 c sugar
3/4 c butter (not margarine)
3 squares (3 oz) unsweetened chocolate, cut up *
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
Baked pie crust or graham cracker crust
In a bowl beat sugar and butter with electric mixer on medium speed about 4 min or till fluffy. Stir in chocolate and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating on high speed after each and scraping sides of bowl constantly. Transfer into baked pie shell. Cover; chill for 5-24 hours or till set. If desired, top with unsweetened chipped cream and chocolate curls. Serves 10.

you many use this substitute for each 1 oz chocolate square -
* 3 T unsweetened cocoa powder + 1 T oil (canola, olive, coconut)

Pecan Pie (p.287)
3 eggs
1 c lite corn syrup (or maple syrup or a combination of both) **
2/3 c sugar
1/3 c margarine or butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 c pecan halves
Pastry for single crust pie
For filling, in a mixing bowl, beat eggs lightly with a rotary beater or fork till combined. Stir in corn syrup, sugar, margarine or butter, and vanilla. Stir well. Stir in pecan halves.
Place in a pastry-lined 9" pie plate on the o


** I used 2/3 c. corn syrup and 1/3 c. maple syrup and it was quite good.

Lemon Meringue Pie (p.288)
1 1/2 c sugar
3 T all purpose flour
3 T cornstarch
3 eggs
2 T margarine or butter
1 -2 tsp finely shredded lemon peel
1/3 c lemon juice
Baked Pastry Shell
Meringue for pie (+)

For filling, in a medium saucepan combine sugar, flour, cornstarch, and dash salt. Gradually stir in
l 1/2 c. water. Cook and stir over medium-high heat till thick and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir for 2 min more. Remove from heat. Separate egg yolks from whites; set whites aside for meringue. Beat egg yolks slightly. Gradually stir 1 cup of the hot filling into yolks; return all to saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil. Cook and stir 2 min more. Remove from heat. Stir in margarine and lemon peel. Gradually stir in lemon juice, gently mixing well. Pour hot pie filling into Baked pastry shell. Spread Meringue over hot filling; seal to edge. Bake in 350 F oven fro 15 min. Cool on wire rack. Cover and chill to store. Makes 8 servings.

(+)  Meringue for pie
3 egg whites
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
6 T sugar
Bring egg whites to room temperature. In a mixing bowl, combine egg whites, vanilla and cream of tartar. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form (about 1 minute). Gradually add sugar 1 T at a time. Beating on high speed about 4 min more or til mixture forms still, glossy peaks and sugar dissolves. Immediately spread meringue over pie, carefully sealing to edge of pastry to prevent shrinkage. Bake as directed in pie recipe.

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Thanksgiving recipes - Harvest Stuffing

Here is one of our favorites for Thanksgiving:
[Note: The New Better Homes and Gardens (1989) is our go to cookbook for many pies and sides]

Harvest Stuffing -  p. 323

1 c chopped celery
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 c margarine or butter
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
8 cups dried bread cubes (homemade is so easy - use 16 slices cubed into 1/2", spread onto baking pan, bake in 300 F oven for 10-12 min)
2 c finely chopped peeled apple
1/4 c toasted wheat germ
opt: 1/2 c chopped walnuts
1 1/2 - 2 c chicken broth
In large skillet, cook celery and onion in margarine or butter until tender. Stir in nutmeg, 1/4 tsp salt and pepper. In a bowl combine everything else but broth. Mix vegetables with bread cubes. Drizzle broth to moisten. Makes 8-10 servings.
Bale om covered casserole dish at 375 for 20-30 minutes.

Crock Pot Variation - place the bread cube mixture into the saucepan. Drizzle the broth in there and mix until well blended. Next place in a crock pot on low for 30 min and warm for up to 1 hour more. This frees up coveted oven space.

Saturday, November 16, 2019

to try: Lentil Mushroom Sweet Potato Shepherd's pie


https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-lentil-and-mushroom-sweet-potato-shepherds-pie-182683



Wild Rice Soup











Cooking Wild Rice


Dark Chocolate Muffins


 




I doubled this recipe, switched the beans to cooked black beans and placed it in two pans - 
one bread pan and one 8x8 pan. Baking them for 20 min, as directed above. Turned out to be wonderful brownies! That is the recipe shown in the photos.


Thursday, October 31, 2019

Homemade Stevia Chocolate Chips

I haven't tried these out yet. I don't really use stevia chocolate chips. I make my own chocolate in ice cube trays. I'll need to buy the molds, and although expensive, in the long run they will save money.
Stevia Sweetened Chocolate Chips Author: Judy Witherby
Ingredients
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Instructions
  1. Melt bakers chocolate, remove from heat.
  2. Add Powdered Sweetener , Stir
  3. Add vanilla and stir some more.
  4. Add Coconut oil if needed to thin for pouring.
  5. Pour into mold and freeze until hard.
  6. Store in freezer.
 

Chocolate chip molds:

I used one of these trivets as a mold

Friday, October 25, 2019

Healthy (Gluten Free Sugar Free Soy Free) Teriyaki Chicken

Altered Teriyaki Sauce-
3 T Liquid Aminos (alt for Soy Sauce)
2 T water
2 tsp Stevia
1 T tapioca starch
1/2 tsp granulated garlic (shredded frozen garlic is better if you have it)
1/2 tsp powdered ginger (shredded frozen ginger is better if you have it)
opt: 2 tsp minced dried onion

[Hint: Freeze fresh ginger and garlic in ziplocks and pull out right before using. Run under warm water briefly then scrape off skin or peel back outside layer. Grate as much as you need; re-freeze remainder.]

Use this as a marinade. Add 1 lb fresh, cubed chicken and let it sit in your fridge for 24-36 hours.

After 36 hours in fridge

If the marinade has been completely absorbed, add 2 T Liquid Aminos and 4 T water when you place it in a nonstick pan. Saute 'til done. Add chopped (1/2 can) water chestnuts and green onions (2T) after 4 minutes if you'd like.


Steamed broccoli (just steam until it changes color) and/or brown rice (or cauliflower rice) makes it a (colorful) meal.

Cauliflower rice

Heat grated cauliflower in a pan. Add salt and a little oil. 
Saute until it looks good to you and add chopped green onion right at the end.

Serve with your favorite Chicken (see my Teriyaki Chicken recipe) and a salad.

Orange Date Cookies


Orange Date Cookies
1/2 c. Grape seed oil
1 pureed pear + additional apple juice concentrate to make 3/4 c.
1/4 c. combination of dates and raisins
1/2 orange peel and all (no seeds)
Blend well in blender. 

Add 2 eggs, 1/2 c Stevia, 1 tsp vanilla, 
1 c brown rice flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt.
Blend again in blender.

Take out of blender and add 1 c brown rice flour and 1 c oats.
Stir by hand.
Drop dough (will seem sticky) on greased cookie sheet and bake for 10 min at 350 F.





Easy breakfast - spinach and eggs

My new favorite breakfast - 1 tsp coconut oil melted into pan. Cook 2 eggs w salt and pepper and dill (Flip to finish cooking). Then place on a bed of spinach.


Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Palusami w/ Spinach & Chicken

My version of this is as follows:
3 c fresh spinach
1 can coconut milk (refreigerated overnight)
1/2 finely chopped green onion
1 T coconut oil
1 c shredded cooked chicken
1 T soy sauce (or liquid aminos)

Start boiling 6 c water in a large pot. Place the 1 T coconut oil in a medium frying pan with a lid. Add chopped green onion and cook on medium heat until it changes color and softens. Set aside. Place chicken into the same pan, add coconut milk and warm. When the coconut milk has softened and chicken is warm, add onion back into the pan with chicken and set aside with the lid on to keep some heat in.
Meanwhile, your water should be boiling. In 2-3 batches, place the spinach into the boiling water just until it turns color and take out immediately with a large slotted spoon. You do not want limp or mushy spinach. It'll just be a few seconds. If you have to do the whole batch at once, be quick. By the time you have the whole batch in, the bottom part will be overcooked.
Drain the spinach thoroughly and add chicken mixture to spinach, tossing it together. Add up to 2 tsp salt (if needed). Serve immediately if possible.

You can use fish, chicken. pork or corned beef or leave it as a vegetarian dish. Do not add any additional salt at the end if you're using canned meat. Enjoy!

Another recipe you could use is here: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/149546/samoan-palusami/


For the authentic dish, you'll need taro leaves. Which is almost impossible to find.
But if you ever get the chance to cook it, here's a great step by step way to do it...
https://www.polynesia.com/blog/easypalusami/

Hawaiian Style Macaroni Salad

Many people have tried to make an authentic macaroni salad - the kind you get on a plate lunch in Hawaii. Although this is not my favorite kind of salad, I do remember how the right one tastes, and this is the closest recipe I've found. It will be runny, don't worry. It'll set up a little in the fridge and won't dry out as the macaroni absorbs the mayo. I changed the original recipe a little - especially pulling back on the pepper. Auwe - way too much!



Chicken Long Rice - Hawaiian Chicken Noodle Soup


1978 on Molokai Dean with Danny Puailihau
Now that's how to prepare for a real luau!

But when you can't, here's another recipe to make from home:
Chicken Long Rice


Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Hawaiian Sweet Potatoes

 Hawaiian style sweet potatoes


Be prepared - No sugar. No pineapple.
Typically the sweet potatoes are placed in the imu on top of the pig (which has banana leaves covering it) with bananas (in their peels) and covered with leaves for the last few hours of cooking.

3 cubed sweet potatoes
1 banana broken into 6-7 pieces
1/2 c. coconut milk
1/2 c water (put this in the measuring cup you did the milk in, swirl it around and get every last drop of the coconut milk)

1- Place in a crock pot on high for 2 hours. OR Instant Pot (see below).
2- Take out bananas and 1/2 c of the liquid in the crock pot. 
3- Add 1 tsp salt and mash, mixing well. 
4- Blend this back in to the crock pot.
5- It's ready to serve. You can keep it on warm in the crock pot for up to one hour. Serve warm. Enjoy!

Instant Pot Variation
Place first three ingredients directly into Instant Pot - and mix.
1 c water
1/8 tsp Liquid Smoke
3/4 tsp coarse salt (Hawaiian or Pink Himalayan)

Drop these sliced items into liquid directly into Instant Pot:
3 sweet potatoes (cut into 1-2" slices)
2 bananas (cut into large slices)

1- Cook in Instant Pot for 17 min, then do a natural release for 10 min.
2- Pour 1/2 c of liquid into 4 c glass pyrex. Add 1/2 c coconut milk. 
3- Drain remaining liquid into 1 quart glass jar. 
4- With a potato masher, roughly mash sweet potato and bananas in the Instant Pot; adding the water-coconut milk mixture slowly.
5- Add more salt or liquid smoke to taste. Intensity of flavors will increase if stored in fridge and reheated. 
6- It's ready to serve. You can keep it on warm in the crock pot for up to one hour. Serve warm. Enjoy!


  • General Directions for Sweet Potatoes in Instant Pot:
  • https://garlic-head.com/instant-pot-sweet-potatoes/#tasty-recipes-9004-jump-target 
  • 3 sweet potatoes of relatively similar size (scrubbed clean)
  • 1 cup water
  • Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Place the metal trivet in the Instant Pot and add your 3 cleaned sweet potatoes and 1 cup water. Lock lid onto pot and place release handle into “sealing” position.
  2. If your potatoes are under 2 inches in width, place pot on “high pressure” for a 15 minute cook time. If your potatoes are 2-3 inches wide, cook for 23 minutes on high pressure. If your potatoes are larger than 3 inches wide, cook for 30 minutes on high pressure. The pot will preheat and then begin cooking. Be sure not to touch the top of the pot during this process.
  3. When cook time is over, let your pot naturally release for 10 minutes. Release valve carefully after 10 minutes and let rest of steam out, if there is some remaining.

Alternate recipe:
MASHED SWEET POTATOES
1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes (peeled and diced)
1 pound manioc, or substitute yucca (peeled and diced)
1 cup coconut milk (warmed)
1 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
kosher salt

Add the sweet potatoes and manioc to a large stock pot and add enough cold water to cover by an inch. Place on medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and continue to cook until tender, about 30 minutes. Strain and return to the pot. Using a potato masher, begin to mash the potatoes and manioc. Mix in the coconut milk, ginger, honey and vanilla extract. Season with salt. 
https://www.google.com/amp/amp.timeinc.net/myrecipes/recipe/okinawa-sweet-potatoes

Monday, September 9, 2019

Non-dairy Strawberry Coconut slush

When I want something similar to ice cream, this is what I make:

Strawberry Coconut slush
Makes 6 servings

3/4 c. Almond Milk
1 c. frozen strawberries (or blueberries)
1/4 c. coconut water
2 T. Stevia
1/2 c. water

Mix milk and 2 waters w wooden spoon in blender (before turning the blender on).
Add strawberries and blend well. Add up to 1/4 c. more water to blend well.
Place in Tupperware and mix in Stevia by hand.
Freeze for "ice cream" or drink while it's still slushy fresh.

All Natural Pumpkin Bread (w Protein Pwd)

Pumpkin Bread, Cookies or Muffins
3/4 c. flour blend (1/4 c. brown rice flour, 1/4 c. Oat flour, 1/4 c. tapioca starch )
1/2 c. Vanilla Orgain Protein Powder
2 T granulated Stevia blend 
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp cloves
Blend these dry ingredients together. I've made this as a mix in a jar. Then it's ready for the times you want a healthy snack but don't have much time.





Then all you have to do is mix and add the wet ingredients:
1/2 c applesauce or oil
1 c pumpkin puree
1/3 c. water 
2 eggs

Mix well. Decide what you want the final item to be - cookies, muffins, or bread.

* double the recipe and place into a jelly roll pan for 42-45 min.

Options - for dropped cookies, press one almond in center or each before baking.
Pour in to 2 bread pans or 2 (12 ct) greased muffin tins (without paper liners). Bake at 350 F.
One hour for bread, 13-15 min for cookies, 22 min for muffins. Cool thoroughly.

They will be soft and moist! Freezing for up to 6 weeks is also an option.

Rutabaga Fries

Start with 1 peeled rutabaga - slice in to potato wedges

Mix in a small bowl: 2 tsp garlic, 1 tsp. Rosemary or Oregano, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. onion powder. 
Place rutabaga wedges in to a nonstick pan. Add 2 T water to pan and evenly sprinkle seasoning mix on to wedges. Cook on medium for 2 minutes. Add 4 T more water. Cook another 8 minutes. 

No oil needed!


Healthy Oatmeal Almond Energy Balls

Healthy Oatmeal Almond Energy Balls
I can never get enough of these recipes - something that my system likes and my sweet tooth adores!
The hard things is to not eat more than two at a time and to find a recipe that doesn't kill the wallet.


1/4 c. dates (4)
1/4 c. Old Fashioned oats
1/4 c. sliced almonds
Blend in a food processor.

Add: 1 T ground flax
2 T pumpkin or sunflower seeds
1 1/2 T applesauce
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
Use the pulse method on the food processor to blend again. Add up to 1/4 c. more oats if you want a stiffer consistency.

Opt: Mix in 1 T unsweetened coconut by hand. Roll into balls. Keep refrigerated.

Original recipe can be found at https://www.runningtothekitchen.com/oat-almond-date-energy-bites/

Granola w Stevia and Almond Milk

I use this for a snack mix as well as placing a 2T on top of plain oats for breakfast. Add a little fresh fruit and presto - it's a great breakfast that I never get tired of. Honestly, I don't know how I'd get along without it.

Healthy Granola
5 c. regular oats
1/2 c. Stevia
1/2 c. Almond Milk
1/2 c. Coconut Oil or Grape Seed Oil
1/3 c. Apple Juice Concentrate
2 T water
2 T cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
opt 1/2 c dried fruit

Another Alt (uses less Stevia):
Double batch - use 16 drops monk fruit, 1/4 c stevia, 3/4 c oil (coconut or Olive), 1 c apple juice concentrate, 1 c Almond Milk, 1/2 c water.  Add to 10 c oats, 4T cinnamon, 1 tsp salt. Follow instructions below...



Mix Stevia, juice, water and Almond milk in saucepan and heat over medium heat only until Stevia dissolves. Use a whisk to blend things well.


Combine dry ingredients and fruit in mixing bowl. Pour warm liquid mixture over dry mixture and blend well with wooden spoon.


Opt: Add sunflower seeds, unsweetened coconut and/or pumpkin seeds too.


Spray pan with coconut oil spray. Spread evenly on a jelly roll pan and bake at 375 F for 10-20 min. Stirring every 10 min.



Monday, August 19, 2019

New Crock Pot Barley Soup Recipe

Orig post July 28 2014
- Reprinted Recipe - from Winco Foods

Beefy Mushroom Barley Soup

New and improved --
Crock Pot Beef and Barley Soup

3/4 -1 lb cubed beef stew meat (1" pieces)
1 T avacado oil
2 sprigs fresh thyme

1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 large carrots
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
6 c water
3 T beef bouillon cubes
2/3 c. pearl barley


  • Heat 1 Tbsp avacado oil in a large skillet over MED HIGH heat.  Add beef cubes and brown for 1-2 minutes per side.
  • Add beef and all remaining ingredients to slow cooker and stir to combine.  Cover and cook on LOW for 7-8 hours or on HIGH for 4-5 hours.
  • Remove bay leaves and thyme stems and serve.
  • Optional - add to soup before serving: 1/4 c sour cream

See also Slow Cooker Beef Barley soup recipe https://www.thechunkychef.com/slow-cooker-beef-barley-soup-recipe/#wprm-recipe-container-12382  I can do everything but the potatoes.

Thursday, June 27, 2019

Surprisingly good - spinach, turkey deli meat, black beans


Just a bunch of leftovers that turned into a really tasty meal. 
Add 1 T of coconut milk before warming this up.

Banana Muffins - mom's way


I've found that using some tapioca flour really helps to lighten the otherwise 
denser flours I use when baking. A good combination of many flours helps a lot! 
I tend to use at least 1/3 of the flour as oat flour that I blend myself in my food processor from rolled oats. I don't buy any kind of gluten free variety - just the Old Fashioned Whole grain variety.

Lasagna in glass bread pans

My Lasagna in 2019 (2 bread pans - three layers and extra mozzarella)):

My Lasagna today (3 bread pans, 2 layers each) 
First time try by my husband: 


No matter which lasagna recipe I use, I always make them in glass bread pans. 
That way, I only bake the one pan for each meal. Otherwise, there's always the crusty, 
hard noodles on the edges when we warm up leftovers. Using glass pans helps to warm 
any small leftovers up in the microwave. This was enough for 3 meals at our house.

Here's my recipe:
Have your 3 glass bread pans - sprayed w nonstick and foil at the ready.

1 T olive oil
1 pkg lasagna noodles (12 needed, do 1-2 extra)
    In a large pot, add 6 c. water on the stove. Add 1/2 tsp salt and the 1 T olive oil in the water. Cook            until boiling. Add lasagna noodles and prepare as directed on box of noodles.



    While water is coming to a boil - Brown hamburger. This is the first layer.
1 lb hamburger
    Once it's browed, add these:
6 oz can tomato paste
1/2 can 28 oz diced tomato (and half of the natural juice in the can)
1 T dried minced onion (or 1/2 c chopped cooked onion)
1 tsp each - garlic powder and oregano
    Be sure the sauce is thick. You don't want runny lasagna!



    Preheat Oven to 350 F

    Drain Noodles as soon as they're done and lay them flat on a cutting board. This is the second layer.
    When you slice each noodle down (each into a 2/3rd and 1/3rd portion) so they fit the pan, you'll            have enough for 18 - 12 long noodles (2/3rds of a noodle - referred to now as one) and the other six        will be as 12 half noodles (1/3rd of a noodle - referred to now as half). 

Beat 2 large (or 3 medium) eggs in a large bowl.
Add 15-16 oz container of ricotta cheese (or cottage cheese if you want grandma style) and
1 1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese (6 oz bag)
(opt) add 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper 
    Mix well. Set aside. This is the third layer.

2 c mozzarella cheese (grated). This is the final layer.

Start layering the lasagna - 

1/6th of the hamburger on the bottom of each glass pan.
Then place two overlapping noodles. Then 1/6th of the egg-ricotta mixture. 

Sprinkle 1/6th of the mozzarella cheese on that.
Repeat.

Hamburger - Noodles (use your half noodles here)- Egg. 
But this time, put another layer of noodles before the mozzarella cheese. 
End with the mozzarella cheese on the top. Sprinkle a little oregano on the top for coloring.


Place foil on top of each pan (shiny side down) and place in the oven for 20 min, Take the pans out, remove the foil and bake another 10 min.




        Add a green salad and cheesy or garlic bread and it's a meal!

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