Cool Kitchen Recipe - Corn on the Cob

Wow!  It's been awhile since I've updated my blog!  Yikes!  Lots has been going on at our house, including a spur-of-the-moment adventure to Alaska!  That was back in March-April.

So, on to the recipe.  Actually, it's not much of a recipe, but more of a new-to-us cooking method.  For Christmas this past year, I bought myself an oven roaster.  I thought it would come in handy for feeding a large group of people (not that I do it often!).  But I really bought it because I thought it would work great for cooking on the back porch in the summer.  We don't have air conditioning, and it gets rather toasty in the house.  When it does, I certainly don't want to add to the heat and humidity by boiling a canner full of water to make corn on the cob.  Sometimes we will grill it, but often we want corn on the cob with a sandwich or something "light."

I tried my first batch of corn on the cob in the oven roaster a couple days ago, and it turned out great!  Here's what I did:

I put 3-4 cups of water in my roaster, put the rack in it, and preheated it to 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.  While it preheated, the kids peeled the corn.  When it was warm, I put the corn on the rack and put the lid back on.  I left it in there for about 25 minutes.

It was delicious, and my kitchen didn't overheat!!!

To serve a crowd, decrease the heat to 200 or so.  That will keep the corn warm without overcooking it.

Cooking Bacon!

I enjoy bacon.  Different people like bacon prepared in different ways.  Wayne and I both like ours extra crispy.  The problem is cooking it.  If we cook it in a pan, the grease splatters everywhere.  Someone once told me to try cooking it in the oven on a cookie sheet.  I did that, and it worked well, but I wondered how much grease was still splattering around inside my oven.  And since I hate cleaning the oven, I didn't embrace that method whole-heartedly either.  There's always the paper towel in the microwave method, too.  But I always found it hard to gauge between half-raw (which is how some people prefer bacon) and burned to a crisp.

The other day I was cooking hamburgers on our George Foreman grill.  (It's what I turn to when it's a bit too nippy outside for grilling, or when I just want to cook up enough for lunch.)  And I thought to myself that a chunk of bacon would be good on my hamburger. 

I knew there was bacon in the refrigerator.  So, I pulled it out and sighed, thinking about the splatter mess it would make.  Then the thought hit me!  "I bet I could cook this on the Foreman!"

Once the hamburgers were done, I put the bacon on it, and 4-5 minutes later, it was cooked to perfection.  No grease splatters anywhere.  And all the grease just ran out of the Foreman to the little grease collection tray!

So, from now on, I'm pleased to announce that bacon will be served regularly at our house!  While I still don't enjoy washing the Foreman, I can cook up a bunch of bacon at once and keep it in the refrigerator for those times when a piece of bacon would just "make" a sandwich!

Recipe - Biscuits

This is a rather simple recipe, but it's a good one that I recently stumbled across.  We enjoy it every week for breakfast with hot gravy on top.  And we're looking forward to June when our strawberries are ripe and we can have fresh strawberries with our biscuits!  I usually double the recipe.  They are also yummy with our homemade jam.  Mmmmm...

BISCUITS

2 C flour
1 Tbs baking powder
1 tsp salt
1Tbs sugar
1/3 C shortening
1 C milk

Whisk together the dry ingredients.  Cut in the shortening.  Gradually stir in the milk.  Knead it a bit. 

Pat it out to about an inch thick.  Dip a glass jar into flour and use it as a cookie-cutter to cut out the biscuits, putting them on an ungreased baking sheet.  Keep doing this until all the dough is used up.

Bake at 425 for 13-15 minutes.

Recipe - Sausage Skillet Supper

I ran across this recipe in an old Taste of Home magazine, and I can't count how many times I've made it since.  I like to buy the sausage when it's on sale.  Sometimes it's in a one-pound package, sometimes it's the 12-ounce package.  It really doesn't matter.  But when it's on sale, I'll stock up and put it in the freezer.  Everything else is stuff that lines the shelves of our pantry.  And as a bonus for us, I made up a bunch of salsa a couple years ago that we really didn't care for.  But, I didn't want to throw it out either.  It works perfectly in this recipe! 

1 pound bulk pork sausage (I use the hot stuff.  It's really not that hot when mixed with other stuff.)
1 can (14.5-ounces) stewed tomatoes, undrained  
1 can (16-ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 C uncooked rice
1 C water
2/3 C picante sause or salsa

Cook, crumble, and drain the sausage.  Add everything else.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat.  Cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the rice is tender.

That's it!  I hope you enjoy it as much as our kids do!

How to Cook Scrambled Eggs in a Stainless Steel Pan

After seven years of marriage, I didn't get an itch, but the pans I had received as a wedding gift were shot. They were non-stick, and because of all the meals I had prepared in them, the non-stick surface was beginning to come off, even though I had never used metal utensils in them.

So, I purchased a new set of non-stick pans. They worked great... until they, too, finally succumbed to their seven-year itch.

I did a bit of research and decided to go with stainless steel. I LOVE my "new" pans. I suppose after having used them almost every day for the last four or five years, they are no longer new. But they still look like new. And they still cook exactly like they did when I opened the box for the first time.

I have learned to cook a little differently, and maybe that has helped. I no longer use high heat. I cook everything over medium heat or lower. Sure, it takes a bit longer for water to boil, but at this point I'm not planning on ever replacing these pans.

However, as much as I love these pans, I could not figure out how to cook scrambled eggs without them sticking dreadfully. However, this morning, I made my first batch of scrambled eggs in them with no sticking!

This is how I did it:

I put my pan on the burner over medium heat. Then I prepared my eggs. Once the pan was nice and warm, (I held my hand over it and felt the heat rising from it.) I added some oil and turned the pan to coat it completely on the bottom and the sides. Immediately after coating it, I added the eggs.

I couldn't believe my eyes! I stirred the eggs as normal, and it was just like using a good non-stick pan!

Needless to say, I'm thrilled!

Recipe - Creamy Grapes

My mom served this once, and we all fell in love with the recipe.  While we all enjoy grapes just the way God made them, occasionally it's nice to do something a bit different.

Obviously, with four pounds of grapes, this makes quite a bit, but feel free to cut the recipe in half.

CREAMY GRAPES

1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 C sour cream
1/3 C sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 lbs seedless red grapes
2 lbs seedless green grapes

Beat the cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, and vanilla until blended.  Add grapes and toss to coat.  Refrigerate. 

Recipe - Sparkling Grape Juice

One of our family traditions on special days is to undust the goblets and break open a bottle of sparkling grape juice.  But one bottle is hardly enough for the five of us to get a glass each.  Then it's gone, and what fun is that?!?  And the stuff isn't cheap, so when I stumbled across this "recipe" for homemade sparkling grape juice, I knew I wanted to give it a try.  The nice thing about making our own is that we're not limited to grape or white grape.  We tried this today (Christmas eve) with "berry blend."  And I bought "strawberry-kiwi" for Christmas day.  I mixed it up in a nice pitcher, and everyone was able to drink up.  ~smile~

SPARKLING GRAPE JUICE

2 liters of club soda (chilled)
12 ounces of frozen juice concentrate (whatever flavor you want to try!)

Put the concentrate in a pitcher, and add 6 cups of the club soda.  You won't use all the club soda, but if you use too much it might taste a bit odd.  So, don't just dump in the full two liters.  Stir and enjoy!

Recipe - Russian Refresher

Once the weather starts turning colder, I love my hot beverages.  I'm not a fan of coffee.  I like hot chocolate, hot vanilla, hot cider, chai, tea, and Russian Refresher.  I'm not sure why it's called Russian Refresher, but it is a refreshing drink.  And as a bonus, it's good cold, too!  I keep my mix in a quart jar.  Enjoy!

RUSSIAN REFRESHER MIX

2 C powdered orange drink mix (Tang)

1 3-oz pkg presweetened powdered lemonade mix (1/2 C)

1/2 C sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp cloves

Mix well.

To serve: Add 1 Tbs (or to taste) to 1 cup of boiling water.

Recipe - Honey Roasted Pretzels

I'm a fanatic for salty-sweet. And not only does this recipe hit the spot, but it's rather inexpensive to make as well.

1/4 C brown sugar
2 Tbs margarine
1 Tbs honey
1 Tbs light corn syrup
1/8 tsp baking soda
12-ounce bag of pretzels

Combine brown sugar, margarine, honey, and corn syrup in a microwave-safe bowl. (It will boil up, so make sure the bowl is at least 2 cups.) Microwave on high for about a minute (stir it once at about 30 seconds) until it's boiling hard.

Microwave on high for another minute.

Stir baking soda into boiling mixture.

Place pretzels in a 2 or 3-quart microwave-safe bowl, and pour the syrup over the pretzels.

Microwave the coated pretzels on 50% power, uncovered for 3-4 minutes, stirring twice.

Spread onto cookie sheets or counter top to cool.

Recipe - Chocolate-filled Cupcakes

Alicia and I recently took a cake decorating class, and we fell in love with decorating cupcakes. To us a beautifully decorated cake is one thing, but a beautifully decorated cake that tastes good is another. Here's a recipe we stumbled across that definitely qualifies as "Tried and True!"

CHOCOLATE-FILLED CUPCAKES

3 C flour
1 1/2 C sugar
1/3 C baking cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 C milk
1 C oil
1 C water
1 tsp vanilla

Combine the first five ingredients. Add the other ingredients. Beat until smooth. Fill paper-lined muffin cups half full. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.


CREAM FILLING

1/4 butter or margarine, softened
1/4 shortening
2 C confectioners' sugar
3 Tbs milk
1 tsp vanilla
pinch salt

Combine all the ingredients for the filling. Beat until fluffy (about five minutes). Use a small tip (a bismark tip) to fill each cupcake. Frost tops of cupcakes as desired.

Recipe - Sun Tea

Ah... I look out on my back porch and see a glass gallon jug of tea brewing in the sun! I make a gallon of tea almost every day in the summer. We drink a lot of it.

I found the gallon jug that we use at a thrift shop for a dollar. I like it because it doesn't have a spigot on it. I find that those are hard to keep clean. I've also heard that a glass gallon pickle jar could be used, but I wondered about getting the pickle smell in the tea. Ugh! So, I was pleased to find my jug. I didn't need to worry about pickle tea!

I fill my jug with water. As it's filling, I put in six regular tea bags and one "flavored" tea bag. I like to try different teas, and some of them aren't the greatest as hot teas. But they work fine lightly flavoring a gallon of sun tea. So, it's a good way to use them up!

Then I just sit the gallon on the back porch. Before I go to bed, I'll bring it inside, put the tea bags in the compost bin, dump the tea into our plastic gallon jug that's good for pouring, and add about a half cup of sugar. That makes it just slightly sweet. Into the refrigerator it goes, and by morning it's nice and cool.

Enjoy!

Recipe - Pizza on the Grill or over the Fire

This isn't going to be a recipe as much as it's going to be a how-to for making pizza on the grill.

Making pizza on the grill is much easier with two people. One person does the actual grilling while the other person does the food prep and decorating.

Make a batch of your favorite pizza dough. I've tried rolling it out inside and bringing it outside already rolled up, but that's a lesson in futility. The dough will rise and it will all stick together. It's a mess. So, just bring your big batch of dough out by the grill or the firepit, whichever you're using, and roll it out as you need it.

Bring the pizza sauce and the toppings to your grilling area. (We usually set up a card table to help with all this.) You'll also want plates or a big platter to work on.

Once the fire/coals are nice and hot, roll out a chunk of the dough. I just rip off a handful and roll it out on the platter. I make personal pizzas. I think that keeps them easier to flip.

Put the rolled out dough on the grate of the grill. Don't worry. It won't ooze through the cracks!

Using tongs or a turner, peek at the bottom. When it starts turning light brown, flip it.

When both sides are lightly browned, put it on a plate, add the sauce, toppings, and cheese, and return it to the grill. If you're using a grill you can close the cover to help the cheese melt a bit faster. Otherwise, if you're cooking with a fire, you'll have to be a bit more patient. Once the cheese starts melting, enjoy!

Note: This isn't one of those meals that everyone will eat together at the same time. I think at most we did four pizzas on the grill/fire at once. It's more of a laid back, enjoy the conversation, and eat when the opportunity presents itself kind of meal! I hope you enjoy it as much as we have!

Recipe - Peas and Asparagus

The other day I was given a pile of asparagus, and, having never cooked it before, I was a bit intimidated. So, I posted a plea for help on my Facebook status, and I received lots of helpful tidbits. I also searched my favorite cooking website, http://www.allrecipes.com/, to see what I could come up with there. I found lots of recipes that looked good, but the one we tried yesterday coupled asparagus with a veggie my family already enjoys, peas. I can't say the kids were thrilled with asparagus, but only Justin said he didn't like it, and even he ate it without too much complaining. I enjoyed it, and since I still have quite a big pile in the refrigerator, I'm looking to doing a bit more experimenting for lunch today. But here's the recipe as I made it yesterday. Enjoy!

PEAS AND ASPARAGUS
1/2 cup water
2 (10 ounce) packages frozen peas
3/4 pound fresh or frozen asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
3/4 teaspoon garlic salt
Dash pepper

Bring water to a boil. Add peas, asparagus, butter, parsley, garlic salt and pepper. Return to a boil.
2.Reduce heat; cover and simmer until asparagus is crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain; serve immediately.

Recipe - Pasta Salad

This has got to be one of my all-time favorite summer pasta salad recipes! I made this years ago when Wayne and I were first married, but somehow I lost the recipe. I knew I had made this delicious pasta dish, but for the life of me, I couldn't remember exactly how it went. After searching the internet for a recipe that looked similar and coming up empty-handed, imagine how thrilled I was to find a copy of it in our church cookbook! Enjoy!

PASTA SALAD
(from Ruth DeKorne)

1 bunch broccoli, cut up
2 C grated cheese
1 16-oz box twist pasta, cooked and cooled
1 medium onion, chopped
1 6-oz bag of dried cranberries
1# bacon fried crisp and crumbled (optional)

DRESSING:
1 C sugar
2 C mayonnaise
4 Tbs red wine vinegar

Mix the salad ingredients. Mix the dressing ingredients. Combine.

Recipe - Mouse Ears (aka Fried Cinnamon Strips)

This is always a fun treat for the kids. Since they are a smaller version of the popular "Elephant Ears," we renamed them "Mouse Ears." Enjoy!


MOUSE EARS (aka Fried Cinnmon Strips)

1 C sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
10 8" flour tortillas (or whatever you have onhand)
cooking oil

Combine sugar cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside. Cut tortillas into 2”x3” strips.

Heat ½-1” oil in skillet or electric frying pan to 375. Fry 4-5 strips at a time for about 30 seconds on each side. Drain on paper towels.

While still warm, cover with sugar mixture.

Recipe - Skinney-Dippin' Chicken

This has got to be the easiest way to prepare chicken breasts, and they are so delicious. This is a recipe that you can make without referring to a cookbook, and thus, you can impress your friends! ~grin~ When we named this dish we all agreed on Skinney-Dippin' Chicken. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

SKINNEY-DIPPIN’ CHICKEN

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can chicken broth (or make your own fresh or with bouillon cubes)
Parmesan cheese

Place chicken in 9x13. Don’t overlap. Pour broth over chicken. Sprinkle cheese over chicken. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Brownies!

Here is my favorite recipe for brownies. I like the fact that it makes a full 9x13 instead of just a 9x9. So, it's great for potlucks. (A 9x9 just seems cheap sometimes!) I've tried making it without the chocolate chips, and it's not nearly as good, so don't try to skimp there. And I enjoy mint, so I usually add the peppermint. If you don't have peppermint oil, you can find it at a health food store. Just make sure it's the kind that can be used in food. It has lots of different uses besides just an add-in for brownies! But more on that another day! For today, here's my tried and true recipe for brownies! Enjoy!

BROWNIES

1 1/3 C sugar
2/3 C cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/3 C flour
4 eggs
2/3 C oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 C chocolate chips
a few drops of food grade peppermint oil (optional)

Mix dry ingredients. Mix eggs, oil, and vanilla in a separate bowl. Add all at once to the dry ingredients. Do not over mix.

Pour into a greased 9x13.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Recipe - Hot Vanilla

Every once in awhile I get a craving for hot vanilla. Everyone is familiar with hot chocolate, but it's lesser known relative is just as good.

I don't really have a recipe, so you'll have to adjust this to satisfy your own taste buds!

I warm up a mug of milk in the microwave. (You could use a pan, but the microwave is easier for me.) You don't want it boiling. Just nice and warm.

Add a bit of vanilla and a bit of brown sugar. Again, this is to taste.

Stir it in, and enjoy. Ahhh...