Chex Mix

 Growing up we had Chex mix every Christmas at our house.  My mom would make a large batch and would give it to friends and neighbors.  My family loves it as well, and this year I made 3 batches!  You can add any additional items you choose.

Chex Mix

Ingredients:

• 3 cups Corn Chex Cereal
• 3 cups Rice Chex Cereal
• 2 cups Wheat Chex Cereal
• 2 cups Cheez-it Crackers
• 2 cups Mini Pretzels
• 1 cup Cheerios (optional)
• 1-3 cups peanuts, any other mixed nuts
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1/3 cup Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 T. season salt
• 1 T. garlic powder

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees
2. Dump the cereals, crackers, pretzels, cheerios and nuts into a large bowl or roaster. Mix.
3. In a medium bowl, melt the butter and stir in the Worcestershire sauce, seasoned salt and garlic powder.
4. Drizzle the butter mixture evenly over the cereal mixture, toss 1-2 minutes to make sure everything is evenly coated. Pour into 2 baking pans.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
6. Pour the mixture out onto paper towels or parchment paper to cool.
7. Store in an airtight container or ziploc bag at room temperature.

Piereth Pie

 This was a pie that was a speciality at a downtown restaurant in Minot, ND when I was a child. It was a treat to go there with my aunt!  I probably ate it there once!   But my mom got the recipe and we used to make it at home. I found it recently in an old hand written cookbook I made when I was growing up.

Piereth Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 baked pie crust
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup sugar 
• 2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds or chopped walnuts
• vanilla pudding, one box instant or cooked, or vanilla pudding from this blog
• whipped cream, I used 3/4 cup whipping cream, could use cool whip
• grated chocolate or nuts

Directions:

1. Cream together butter and sugar.  Melt and cool the chocolate, then add to the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add the nuts.
2. Put in baked pie crust and refrigerate.
3. Add a layer of vanilla pudding over the top of the refrigerated chocolate layer.
4. Then add a layer of whipped cream.  Sprinkle with grated chocolate or nuts.
5. Refrigerate

Granny's German Spaetzle

 This spaetzle is an authentic spaetzle recipe passed down in a German family for generations.  I found this recipe online, it was not from my grandma.  But it is a great spaetzle recipe.

Granny's German Spaetzle

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 T. minced fresh parsley
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 6 large eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup butter

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, parsley, and nutmeg.
2. In a separate bowl, lightly beat eggs.
3. Alternate between stirring in beaten eggs and milk to the flour mixture until you have a smooth batter.  Let the batter rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
4. Meanwhile bring a pot of salted water to a boil.
5. Pour spaetzle dough through a spaetzle maker or colander directly into the boiling water so that small, elongated drops fall in.
6. Boil until spaetzle rises to the top.  Use a slotted spoon to remove spaetzle from water.
7. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Place drained spaetzle directly into butter and fry 2-3 minutes.

Cabbage and Noodle Hot Dish

I found this recipe a few years ago and then couldn't find it for awhile.  It resurfaced and putting it on my blog it won't get lost.

Cabbage and Noodle Hot Dish

Ingredients

• 5 slices bacon
• 1 T. sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 6 cups chopped cabbage
• Cooked noodles
• 1/2 cup thick sour cream
• Sprinkle of paprika

Homemade noodles

• 1 beaten egg
• 2 T. milk
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup flour

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Combine ingredients for the noodles.  Roll thin.  Let set for 20 minutes; then cut.
3. Fry bacon until crisp. Add salt, sugar and cabbage.  Stir and cook 10 minutes, covered. 
4. Add cooked noodles, cabbage and bacon into casserole.  Add some of the bacon drippings to sour cream and paprika and pour over top.
5. Bake 45 minutes at 325 degrees.

Maple Glazed Sockeye Salmon

 Once or twice a year I find sockeye salmon in the store and splurge and buy some.  It is such a treat to have.  This recipe is the one I tried recently with the salmon.  It was so good.

Maple Glazed Sockeye Salmon

Ingredients

• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. chili powder
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1/2 lb. salmon filet

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Add the maple syrup, paprika, chili powder, and sea salt to a small bowl and whisk together.
3. Line a shallow glass baking dish with tin foil, being sure to use enough to cover the edges of the dish, and place the salmon inside.  This helps keep the syrup on the fish and makes clean-up pretty easy.
4. Pour syrup mixture over the salmon filet, taking care to coat it evenly.
5. Cook the salmon for 15 minutes.  Remove the fish from, the oven and coat it with syrup from the dish using a basting brush or spoon.  Cook for an additional 5 minutes.
6. The salmon is done when it flakes easily with a fork. 

Easy Homemade Vanilla Pudding

 I love pudding and whenever I have extra milk in my refrigerator I make pudding.  I found this easy vanilla pudding recipe that is really good.  After it is cooked you can leave it plain or add bananas, coconut or chocolate chips. (The chocolate chips will melt if you add them when the pudding is hot, I usually wait until it is warm to add them.). Or if you would like berries with it or whipped cream that would be good too.

Easy Homemade Vanilla Pudding 

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 3 T. cornstarch
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 2 1/4 cups whole milk
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 T. unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan whisk together sugar, cornstarch, salt, milk, and egg yolks.  Cook over medium low heat, whisking occasionally (every minute or two), until the mixture is bubbling all throughout.  Takes like 7-8 minutes.  Once bubbling, continue cooking for one to two additional minutes.  At this point the pudding should be thickened but still pourable, it will thicken more as it cools.
2. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla extract.
3. Transfer to large bowl or serving bowls if desired.

Zuppa Toscana Soup

 This is a soup recipe that is similar to what they serve at the Olive Garden.  This recipe is quite easy to make and just has to simmer for a couple hours.

Zuppa Toscana Soup

Ingredients

• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup of heavy cream
• 1/2 small to medium onion chopped
• 3 medium russet potatoes, peels on
• 4 cups chopped fresh kale
• 1 lb Italian sausage
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes.

Directions

1. Cut potatoes in half then in 1/4 inch slices. 
2.  In large pot, cook sausage.  Then add chicken broth and cream.  Heat over medium heat, to a boil. Add potatoes and kale.  Stir.  Add seasonings.  
3. Cover, reduce heat to low.  Simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.  

Sweet and Spicy Refrigerator Pickles

 I am always looking for new refrigerator pickles to make.  And I really like a sweet and spicy pickle.  This is a pretty good  recipe to try if you have garden cucumbers.

Sweet and Spicy Refrigerator Pickles

Ingredients:

• 6 cups sliced cucumbers
• 1 cup red peppers, sliced in 1 inch strips
• 2 jalapeños seeded and minced
• 1 Tablespoon sea salt
• 1 cup white balsamic vinegar (I searched for a replacement and it said to use rice wine vinegar or white wine vinegar)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. dried dill
• 1/2 tsp. celery seed
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup water

Directions:

1. Place the cucumbers, red peppers, jalapeños in a medium size bowl.  Sprinkle with the salt and toss well. Let the mixture sit for an hour.
2. In a small sauce pan, mix together vinegar, sugar, dill, celery seed, pepper and water.  Heat to a boil and stir until sugar is dissolved.  Remove from heat.
3. Place cucumber mixture in glass or plastic containers and pour vinegar mixture over them.
4. Let the pickles sit in the fridge for 24 hours before eating them.

Copy Cat Citizen Public House Chopped Salad

 The night before Jordan got married we were in Scottsdale with him.  He wanted to try the Citizen Public House for dinner that night.  It was a small, cozy restaurant and without reservations we could only sit at the bar and eat.  One of their special dishes is a Chopped Salad.  I wanted to get something they were well known for so I order the salad.  It sounded so different and it was.  And it was delicious.  I found the knock off recipe online.  The one ingredient I had to get from Amazon was the freeze-dried corn.  I really wanted to get that one item as I remembered it added so much to the salad.  For the black currants I used the dark red ones. For Les and I a half of recipe was plenty.

Copy Cat Citizen Public House Chopped Salad

Serves 4 generously

Ingredients:

Dressing:

• 1 1/2 cups mayo
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1 1/2 T. Pecorino Romano cheese
• Juice of 1 large lemon
• 18 basil leaves
• 1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic

Trail mix:

• 1 cup black currants
• 1 cup toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
• 3/4 cup ground aged Asiago cheese

Tomato mix:

• 2 cups chopped Roma tomatoes or cherry tomatoes
• 3 T. balsamic vinegar
• 2 T. olive oil
• 4 large basil leaves, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

• 2 cups smoked salmon, flaked or 2 cups grilled pieces of chicken
• 2 1/2 cups freeze-dried corn
• 2 1/2 cups chopped arugula
• 2 1/2 cups cooked Israeli (pearl) couscous

Directions:

1. Combine all dressing ingredients thoroughly in blender and set aside.  
2. Toss all trail mix ingredients together in one bowl.
3. Mix all the tomato mix together in another bowl.
4. To assemble the salads, divide ingredients evenly between four plates and assemble in strips in the following order: salmon/chicken, couscous, arugula, trail mix, corn, and tomato mix.  
5. Serve with dressing on the side or drizzled over the top.

Breadsticks (Grissini)

 Crispy bread sticks are great to have to go along with your Italian meal, or any meal.  They mix up quickly and are easy to make.  Enjoy!

Breadsticks

Ingredients

• 2 3/4 cups (380 grams) bread flour or all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. dry yeast
• 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon (195 ml) warm water
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) olive oil
• 2 T. (30 g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 1 1/4 tsp. fine salt
• Optional:
• Olive oil, melted butter or water for brushing
• Sesame seeds or Parmesan cheese, for sprinkling

Directions

1. Using a mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix all ingredient on low speed until well combined, 2-3 minutes.  Increase mixer speed to medium-low and mix for another 5 minutes.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit for one hour at room temperature.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line two baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. Divide dough into 24 pieces, each weighing about 25 gram. Roll each piece into a log this it roughly 25 cm long, or I just roll it to fit across the baking sheet. Do 12 breadsticks on each baking pan.
4. If you like, brush them with oil or water and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese or sesame seeds.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until light golden and crisp. I usually bake both pans at once and switch them around half way through baking.  
6. Allow  breadsticks to completely cool on a wire rack.

Lazy Cheese Buttons

When you are dreaming of cheese buttons but just do not have the time to make them, turn to this recipe.  It is easy and fast. And also tastes delicious.  And the leftovers, if any, are great also.

Lazy Cheese Buttons

Ingredients:

Buttons

• 1 large container cottage cheese (22 0z.)
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp baking powder

Topping

• 1-2 Onions, sliced
• 1-2 T. Butter
• Cream, about 2 cups or enough to almost cover buttons

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix all the ingredients for the buttons together in a large bowl.  
3. Place rounded tablespoons of the dough on a greased baking sheet.  It may take two baking sheets. Bake 15-20 minutes.
4. While buttons are cooking, prepare sautéed onions.  Melt butter in pan and add sliced onions.   Let sauté  until they are carmelized.
5. Place cheese buttons in a roaster or large casserole dish.  Top with sautéed onions and cream.  (Don't be stingy with that cream, the buttons will wallow in all that creamy goodness.)
6. Bake for 20 minutes and enjoy!

Sour Cream Peach Cream Pie

A friend of mine told me her favorite peach pie was sour cream peach pie.  I had never made one before so I found a recipe to try.  It turned out delicious and I will be making it again.  While the pie is baking, mix together the crumb topping for the pie.

Old Fashioned Sour Cream Peach Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 9 inch unbacked pie crust
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 T. all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2-3 cups sliced peaches

• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter, softened

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Whisk together the 3/4 cup sugar, the 2 T. flour and salt. Beat in the sour cream, egg and vanilla.  Stir in the sliced peaches.   Pour the mixture into the pie crust.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes.  Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking until the filling is set, about 30 minutes.  Remove from the oven.
4. Raise oven temperature to 400 degrees.
5. Whisk together the 1/3 cup flour, 1/3 cup sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.  Mix in the butter with a fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the pie.
6. Return the pie to the preheated oven and bake until topping is golden, about 10 minutes.  Let pie cool slightly before slicing.

Berry Cheesecake

This is an easy no bake cheesecake to make.  I made one for the Fourth of July and put raspberries and blueberries on the top.  Then I made whip cream stars on top of the berries.  It was an easy festive dessert! Oh the lemon juice is not for lemon flavor but is needed to set up the cheesecake.

Berry Cheesecake

Ingredients:

• 1 9 inch graham cracker pie crust
• 1 8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• Berries to decorate the top

Directions:

1. Beat the cream cheese until smooth.  Slowly beat in the sweetened condensed milk. Add the lemon juice and vanilla.
2. Pour into the crust.
3. Refrigerate for several hours.
4. Decorate with berries before serving.

Whipped Cream Cake

This is an old recipe of my mothers.  I found it in an old tattered handwritten cookbook of hers. 

Whipped Cream Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cream, whipped
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 2 cups flour
• 3 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 4 egg whites, stiffly beaten
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Prepare 2 9-inch round cake pans, or a 9 X 13 pan with either cooking spray, butter and flour, and or parchment paper.
3. Whip cream stiff.  Add salt.  Slowly add sugar.
4. Sift flour and baking powder, 4 times.  Add alternately to cream and sugar with water.
5. Add stiffly beaten egg whites and vanilla.
6. Bake 25-35 minutes.

Easy Grilled Pork Chops

This is an easy quick recipe for grilled pork chops.  You just have to remember to marinate the meat for 1 hour.

Easy Grilled Pork Chops

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 T. vegetable oil
• 1 T. apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes 
• Eight 1/2 inch bone-in pork chops (about 3 oz. each)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Begin by making the marinade.  In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, oil, vinegar, cumin and red pepper flakes. 
2. Sprinkle both sides of the pork chops with salt and pepper and place in a re-sealable plastic bag with the marinade.  Let rest on the counter for 1 hour.  
3. Heat a grill or grill pan over medium heat.  Remove the pork chops from the bag and lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place on the grill and cook until the pork chop releases from the grill, about 4 minutes.  Flip and cook on the other side for another 3 minutes. 

These could be made in a pan if grill not available.

Five Grain Bread with Pate Fermentee

In these days of Covid I have been watching a show called Isolation Baking.  It is on You Tube and has Gesine Prado and Jeffrey from King Arthur Flour doing the baking.  This bread was made one of the first weeks and it is so good.  You do have to start a soaker and pate fermentee the night before.  And you need a Dutch oven or similar to bake it in.  I cut the recipe in half as I only have one Dutch oven, and my oven would not be big enough for two. This is the one loaf recipe. I also find it a lot easier to weigh ingredients in grams to get closer to the correct amount.

Five Grain Bread

Ingredients:

Soaker

• 1/4 cup flax seeds
• 3 T. sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/2 cup cool water
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Pate fermentee

• 7/8 cup (106 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup plus 1 T. (71 grams) water
• 1/4 tsp salt
• pinch of yeast

Dough

• all of the soaker
• all of the pate fermentee
• 2 cups plus 1 T. (248 grams) unbleached all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup (35 grams) rye or pumpernickel flour
• 3/4 cups (162 grams) lukewarm water
• 1 1/2 tsp (12 grams) honey
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. instant yeast

Instructions:

1. To make the soaker:  Mix all of the ingredients until thoroughly combined.  Cover the bowl and let rest at room temperature for about 14 hours.
2. To make the pate fermentee:  Mix all the ingredients until thoroughly combined. Cover the bowl and let rest at room temperature for about 14 hours.
3. To make the dough:  Combine all the ingredients in a mixing  bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix and knead to make a supple, elastic dough.  If you're using a stand mixer, use dough hook and mix on low speed for 3 minutes to incorporate the ingredients, then on medium speed for about 5 minutes, or until the dough looks fairly well developed.
4. Cover the bowl (can just leave dough in mixing bowl) with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 1 hour.  After 1 hour uncover the bowl and, using a bowl scraper or spatula, run the scraper or spatula down the inside far wall of the bowl. Bring the dough up from the bottom of the bowl, and fold it over on top of itself. Turn the bowl 90 degrees and repeat; repeat twice more (for a total of 4 times), turning the bowl 90 degrees each time. This process, which helps develop the dough, is called a fold.  Re-cover the bowl, and let the dough rise for another 60 minutes, adding another fold midway through if the dough doesn't seem elastic and strong enough.
5. Gently deflate the dough.  Shape into a rough ball, cover, and let rest for about 20 minutes: this rest will make the loaves easier to shape.
6. After the rest shape the dough into a round or log.  Place it on a piece of parchment or lightly grease baking sheet.  For added support turn the loaves (seam side up) into a floured brotform or into a bowl lined with floured smooth cotton dish towels.
7. Cover the loaf and let it rise for 50-60 minutes at room temperature.
8. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat your oven to 450 degrees.  At the same time place the Dutch oven with an oven-safe lid in the oven to preheat.  Make sure the baker you close is safe to be preheated empty, without anything inside.
9. When the oven is fully preheated, carefully transfer the loaf to your baker.  Transfer the parchment paper along with the loaf into the hot baker.  Slash them several times across the top to allow for expansion.
10. Cover the baker and place it in the hot oven.  Bake the bread for 30 minutes.  Remove the cover and bake 10-15 minutes more, or until the bread is golden brown.  The internal temperature should register 210-212 degrees F on a digital thermometer.
11. Remove the bread from the oven and turn it onto a rack to cool completely.
12. Store the bread at room temperature, loosely wrapped, for up to 5 days. Freeze for longer storage.

Mounds Bar Pie

A friend of mine from Bismarck sent me this recipe to try for Pie of the Week.  It was for a Mounds Bar Pie.  I was looking through an old handwritten recipe book of my mom's and found a very similar recipe called Coconut Macaroon Pie.  I used a combination of the two for my pie.  

Mounds Bar Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup soft butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup flaked coconut
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Beat sugar, eggs and salt until mixture is lemon-colored.
3. Add butter and flour, blend well. Mix in milk and vanilla. 
4. Fold in coconut and mini chocolate chips.
5. Pour into pie shell.  Can top with more coconut if desired.
6. Bake for about 60 minutes.
7. Cool for 12 hours before cutting.

Raspberry Ripple Ice Cream Pie

As I continue on my pie of the week and it is June, I decided on a frozen pie.  It is a Raspberry Ripple Ice Cream pie with Toasted Almond Crumble.  Very refreshing for summer!

Raspberry Ripple Ice Cream Pie

Ingredients:

For the crust and crumble

• 1 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (8 Tbsp.), diced and room temperature 

For the Raspberry Ripple

• 1 bag frozen or fresh raspberries (10 oz.)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 piece lemon peel (2-inch)
• 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

For the Ice Cream

• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 pkg. cream cheese (8 oz.), room temperature
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz.)
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (or less, I used 1/4 cup)
• 2 tsp. lemon zest
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment.  Coat the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan with nonstick spray.  I also lined the pan with parchment paper.
2. Toast almond flour in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, until golden brown, 3-5 minutes.  Transfer almond flour to a bowl; add all-purpose flour, brown sugar, sea salt, cinnamons and nutmeg; let cool about 10 minutes.  Mix in butter until everything is just combined.  
3. Press half the dough into bottom of prepared springform pan to create a thin layer of crust, 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick.  Crumble the rest of the dough onto the other half of the baking sheet, making sure to have some large clumps.  Bake crust and crumbles until deep toffee brown, 15-18 minutes.  Remove baking sheet from oven and let crust and crumble cool to room temperature. 
4. For the raspberry ripple, heat raspberries, sugar and lemon peel in a saucepan over low heat.  Smash the berries a bit with the back of a wooden spoon to release their juices.  Simmer, stirring often, until ripple thickens, 8-10 minutes.  Stir in lemon juice and strain raspberry ripple through a fine-mesh strainer set over a bowl, pressing to get the juice and thickened puree;  let cool to room temperature.
5. For the ice cream, whip cream in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on high speed until soft peaks form;  transfer to a separate bowl.  Using the same mixer bowl and attachment, add cream cheese and whip until smooth, 3 minutes.  Add condensed milk, lemon juice, zest and sea salt.  Mix on low speed until corporate, then increase speed to medium and beat until whipped and smooth, 1 minute.  Fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture.
6. Pour half the ice cream mixture onto the crust.  Drizzle one-half of the raspberry ripple.  Then top with remaining ice cream and remaining raspberry ripple.  Drag a toothpick through the sauce, creating swirls in the cream.  
7. Freeze pie for 20 minutes before scattering the crumbles over the top.  Keep frozen.

Moist Chocolate Cake

I printed off this recipe and have no idea where it came from.  But I labeled it moist chocolate cake.  

Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups white sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk (or substitute by putting 1 tbsp. white vinegar in a cup then filling the rest up with milk; let stand 5 minutes until thickened)
• 1/2 cup butter melted
• 1 T. vanilla extract
• 1 cup hot coffee

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour two 9-inch baking pans (or line with parchment paper) and set aside.
2. In the large bowl of standing mixer, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.  Add eggs, buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla extract and beat until smooth (about 3 minutes). Remove bowl from mixer and stir in hot coffee with a rubber spatula.  Batter will be very runny.
3. Pour batter evenly between the two pans and bake on middle rack of oven for about 35 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean with just a few moist crumbs attached. 
4. Allow to cool 15 minutes in pans, then run a butter knife around the edges of each cake.  Place a wire cooling rack over top of each pan.  Flip the cakes over onto the racks. 
5. Cool completely before handling or frosting.

Meatloaf

Meatloaf is a favorite of Les and Jordan.  And they like to eat it cold as leftovers.  This recipe comes from Mary/Everyday Cheapskate.

Meatloaf

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup milk, whole or 2%
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 3 slices dry bread, crumbled finely (3/4 cup)
• 1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup shredded carrot, extra fine
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Glaze:

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1 T. prepared yellow mustard

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree
2. Whisk eggs, milk, salt and pepper in a large bowl.  Add bread crumbs and stir until dissolved.  
3. Mix ground beef, chopped onion, cheddar cheese and carrot into the bread mixture. Transfer to a 9x5 inch loaf pan.  Press firmly into pan.
4. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, ketchup and mustard.  Spread over meat mixture.
5. Bake until no longer pink in the center, for an hour.  Check at one hour with an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center.  It should read 160 degrees.  Do not overbake.
6. Serves 6.

Cornmeal Currant Crunch Cookies

I found this recipe in a cookbook called Big Fat Cookies.  Supposedly this recipe comes from Italy. They are a delicious crispy cookie, thanks to the cornmeal in them! I had trouble finding the dried currants, but found them at Fresh Thyme.  They are in a box like raisins.

Cornmeal Currant Crunch Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup dried currants
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

1. Position a rack in the middle of the oven.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, stir the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt together; set aside.  In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, 3/4 cup of the sugar, and the lemon zest until smooth and creamy and the color has lightened slightly, about 1 minute.  Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing.  Add the egg yolks and vanilla and mix until blended, about 1 minute.  On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing just until it is incorporated.  Mix in the currants and pecans.
3. Spread the remaining 3 tablespoons sugar on a large piece of parchment or wax paper.  Using a scoop measuring 1/4 cup, scoop out portions of dough.  This can be made smaller if you want.  Roll each one between the palms of your hands into a smooth ball, then roll each ball in the sugar.  Flatten it to about a 3 1/2 inch circle, and place on cookie sheet. (I flatten with a glass.)
4. Bake one sheet at a time until the bottoms and edges are lightly browned, about 15 minutes.  Cool the cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Rousquilles

I found this recipe in a cookie book I got from the library.  It is found in Barcelona and France.  It is a wonderful little cookie, not too sweet.

Rousquilles

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. anise seeds
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. table salt
• 4 T. cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
• 2 cold large egg yolks
• 2 T. orange flower water, milk or white wine
• 2 tsp. honey

Powdered sugar for dusting

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.  Have two round cookie cutters at hand, one 1 3/4 inches in diameter the other 3/4 inch.  You could use larger round cutters, should look like a donut when cut out.
3. Put the flour, sugar, anise seed, baking soda and salt in a food processor and pulse unit to blend.  Drop in the pieces of cold butter and work in long pulses until you've got a grainy mixture.  Stir the yolks, orange flower water (or whatever you're using) and honey together and add it in small measure, pulsing in short spurts after each bit goes in .  When all the liquid is in, process, stopping to scrape the bottom of the bowl if needed , until you have a mass of moist curds.
4. Scrape the dough out onto the counter and knead it lightly and briefly, just to corral the curds into cohesion.  Place the dough between two pieces of parchment paper and roll it to a thickness of 1/4 inch.  
5. Peel away the parchment and using the larger cutter, cut out as many circles as you can. Transfer them to the baking sheet (you can put them close together; they don't spread much), and remove their centers with the small cutter.  Gather the scraps of dough together, press them into a disk, re-roll and cut again.
6. Bake the cookies 18-20 minutes, rotating the sheet  after 10 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown. Remove to a rack and cool.  
7. Dust with powdered sugar.  Optional:  Frost with a powdered sugar glaze.

Irene's Buns or Rolls

My mom loved to bake!  And every Saturday she would be in the kitchen baking buns, rolls and kuchen.  And I am not kidding, every Saturday!  Later I remember her doing overnight dough, and mixing it on Friday late afternoon.  She would then form the buns and rolls about 10 PM and it was ready to bake at 6 or 7 AM.  Then we woke up to fresh rolls!  I have cut her recipe in half as she made a big batch.  So feel free to double if you want a bigger batch.

Buns and Rolls

Ingredients:

• 2 cups water, or 1 cup milk and 1 cup water, or 2 cups milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 tsp. yeast
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 eggs, room temperature, beaten
• 1 tsp. salt
• Flour 5-6 cups

Directions:

1. Bring water and sugar to a boil.  Add butter and let cool to lukewarm.
2. Dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup water (100-110 degrees) and 1/2 tsp. sugar.  Let rise.
3. Pour lukewarm water/milk mixture into a large mixer bowl.  Add eggs, salt and 2 cups flour. Beat well.  Add yeast and mix well.  Add rest of flour to make a soft dough.
4. Knead.  Put into a container to rise.  Let rise until double in blue.  Punch down and let rise again.
5. Form into buns, rolls or kuchen. Be sure to grease the pans well. Let rise again until doubled.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.

Butterfinger Pie

2020 was not only the year of the Covid-19 pandemic, but also the year I was making a pie a week.  I was always looking for a new recipe to try.  This one made it to my kitchen in May. It is an easy pie to make.

Butterfinger Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 graham cracker crust
• 1 12 oz. container Cool Whip, thawed (or you can whip your own cream)
• 1 8 oz. package cream cheese, room temperature
• 4  2.1 oz. Butterfinger bars, crushed

Directions:

1. Blend cream cheese and cool whip.  Fold 3 crushed Butterfinger bars into pie filling.  Sprinkle with the 4th crushed Butterfinger bar on top.  
2. Chill 3-4 hours.

Burritos Supreme

Quite often on Monday morning I will take a cookbook and make a menu for the week.  I have lots of cookbooks from churches, organizations, schools etc.  So this particular week I found this burrito recipe and it ended up on my menu.  

Burritos Supreme

Ingredients:

• 8 burrito-size flour tortillas
• 1 16 oz. can refried beans
• 1 8 oz. pkg grated cheddar cheese
• 1 4.25 oz. can black olives, chopped
• 1 lb. hamburger
• 4 oz. can green chilies, chopped and drained
• 1 small onion chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Fry hamburger, salt and pepper in skillet, then drain.  Cook refried beans.  Divide everything into 8 portions.  
2. Spread refried beans, hamburger, onions, cheese, black olives and green chilies down the middle of the tortillas.  Wrap and fasten with toothpick if needed. Put width way into cake pan.

Burrito Sauce

Ingredients:

• 3 T. butter
• 3 T. cornstarch
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups taco sauce 
• 1/2 tsp. oregano

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a sauce pan.  Whisk in cornstarch.  Add other ingredients.
2. Simmer until thick.  
3. Pour burrito sauce over the burritos.

Bake at 350 degrees until hot.  25-35 minutes.

Minestrone Soup

One of Les' favorite soups.  

Minestrone Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 T. olive oil
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion
• 1/2 cup carrot
• 1/4 cup celery
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
• 3 cups beef, chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 15.5 oz. can cannelloni beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 1/2 cups zucchini, sliced or diced
• 1 T. red wine vinegar
• 3 cups collard greens (stems removed) (spinach or kale can be used)
• 2 cups cooked small pasta (orzo, small shells, macaroni etc)
• 1/2 shredded fresh parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, salt, rosemary, black pepper and crushed red pepper.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are just tender, 8-10 minutes.
2. Stir in the broth, 2 cups water, the cannelloni beans, tomatoes, zucchini and vinegar.  Bring to a boil over the medium-high heat; reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until the zucchini is just tender, about 10 minutes. 
3. Stir in the collard greens and simmer until the greens are tender, about 2 minutes. Stir in the cooked pasta. Season with salt.  Top with the shredded parmesan.

Servings: 4  Calories per serving: 680

Grapefruit Gelatin

I love grapefruit and buy them by the bag.  I usually supreme them and sprinkle with a little sugar if needed.  One day I saw this recipe for grapefruit gelatin.  It sounded so interesting.  It's like grapefruit jello, but so much better!

Grapefruit Gelatin

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2-3 large grapefruits
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1-2 drops red food coloring (optional)

Directions:

1. Combine the sugar and gelatin in a large nonreactive saucepan.  Gradually stir in the water.
2. With a vegetable peeler, remove the rind from 2 or 3 grapefruit and add to the saucepan.
3. Squeeze the grapefruit to yield 2 cups of juice.  Add the grapefruit juice and lemon juice to the saucepan.
4. Over medium low heat and stirring constantly, cook the mixture in the saucepan until it simmers and clarifies.  This will take at least  5 minutes.  When the liquid is clear, strain it into a serving bowl, pressing down on the solids in the strainer to get the last drops of citrus elixir.  Stir in red food coloring to get a pinkish glow.
5. Chill the gelatin for several hours or overnight.

Makes 4 cups, serves 8.  81 calories per 1/2 cup serving.

Chocolate Angel Pie

In my pie journey for 2020, I am always looking for different recipes to try.  This one was in a book I bought a few years ago.  It is light and airy, yet with the filling it is rich.  A fun pie to make!

Chocolate Angel Pie

Ingredients:

Meringue Crust:

• 3 large egg whites
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

Chocolate Mousse Filling:

• 3 T. milk
• 6 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Direction:
For the crust:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Lightly butter a 9 inch pie plate and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar with an electric mixer on medium speed until foamy.  With the mixer still running, gradually add the sugar a couple tablespoons at a time until it is fully incorporated.
4. Continue to whip the egg whites until glossy and stiff peaks form.  It is ready when it's silky but still holds its shape. 
5. Pile the meringue into the center of the pie plate.  Push the meringue out to the edges, building up the sides to form a crust.  
6. Bake for 50-55 minutes until the meringue is evenly toasted and set.
7. Allow the crust to cool while you make the filling. 

For the Filling:

1. Place chocolate in medium bowl and set aside.
2. Heat milk in a small bowl in the microwave until hot and steamy but not boiling. Pour the milk over the chocolate and let it sit for a couple minutes.  Stir the chocolate until it is completely melted and smooth.  Let mixture cool. (I had to microwave chocolate/milk a few seconds to melt chocolate.)
3. In a medium bowl, whip the heavy cream and vanilla to the soft peak stage.  If you over whip the cream, your mousse will be grainy.  Soft, cream, and pillowy is the texture you're looking for.
4. Once the cream has been whipped, fold the cream into the cooled chocolate, a little at a time until fully incorporated and no white streaks remain.
5. Immediately scrape the filling into the cooled meringue shell, smoothing the top. 
6. Cover loosely and refrigerate  at least 2 hours or overnight before serving.

Servings 8. Calories per serving 237.

Cheese Soufflé'

I saw this recipe on TV.  Jacques Pepin said his mother came up with this recipe quite by accident.  It is fairly simple to make.  You don't have to beat the egg whites separately like most soufflé recipes.  It could be served for breakfast or used as a side dish.

Cheese Soufflé 

Ingredients:

6 T. unsalted butter, plus more for baking dish
6 T. all purpose flour
2 cups cold whole milk
1/2 tsp. each salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 extra large eggs
2 1/2 cups grated Swiss cheese, preferably Gruyere (about 6 oz)
3 T. minced fresh chives
Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, for sprinkling

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, with a rack positioned in the middle of the oven.
2. Butter a 6 cup gratin dish, then set it aside.  
3. Melt butter in a saucepan, then add the flour, and mix it in well with a whisk.  Cook for 10 seconds, add the milk in one stroke, and mix it in with a whisk.  Keep stirring with the whisk until the mixture thickens and comes to a strong boil, which will take about 2 minutes.  It should be thick and smooth.  Remove from the heat, and stir in the salt and pepper.  Allow about 10 minutes for the white sauce to cool.
4. Meanwhile, break the eggs into a bowl, and beat well with a fork.  Add the eggs, Swiss cheese, and the chives to the cooled sauce, and mix well to combine.  
5. Pour into the buttered gratin dish, add a sprinkle of parmigiana-reggiano on top, and cook immediately on the middle rack or set aside until ready to cook.
6. Bake fro 30-40 minutes, or until the soufflé is puffy and well browned on top.  Although it will stay inflated for quite a while, it is best served immediately.

Servings: 8. Calories per serving 330.

Watermelon Pickles

This is a favorite at our house in the summer.  We use a watermelon that isn't very good. Or we eat the good stuff in the middle of the watermelon, cut off the rind and use about inch pieces close to the rind.  

Watermelon Pickles

Ingredients:

• Watermelon, cut in small chunks
• 8 cups water
• 1 cup vinegar
• 4 T. pickling salt
• 1 T. sugar
• Fresh dill
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 red dried hot pepper

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan mix water, vinegar, salt and sugar.  Bring to a boil.
2. In each quart jar put some fresh dill.  Add watermelon to fill jar.  Add 1 toe garlic, 1 dried red pepper and more dill to each jar.  
3. Fill jar with the water/vinegar solution, leaving about 1/2 to 1 inch space from top of jar.
4. Seal with lid and process in a water bath for 10 minutes.  They will keep in your pantry, but will get hotter the longer they sit.

Chamber Vacuum Method

I have a chamber vac and have made these pickles using that.  It works out great,

Depending on how much watermelon you have, use the above ingredients or make a half batch. Do directions through number 2.

1. Fill the chamber bag with watermelon, dill, garlic and 1/2 hot pepper.  Add the liquid to cover watermelon in bag, so it is about 1/2 to 2/3 full.
2. Put in chamber and marinate 3 times.
3. Vacuum seal!
4. Refrigerate. Ready to eat in a couple days.

Bread and Butter Pickles

Bread and butter pickles are great to eat on burgers.  They probably are good on any sandwich!

Bread and Butter Pickles

Ingredients:

• 1 gallon cucumbers, sliced thin
• 8 small onions
• 1/2 cup pickling salt

Directions:
Pack in cold water and let set 3 hours.  Drain.  Place in a large kettle.

Ingredients:

• 5 cups sugar
• 5 cups vinegar
• 1 1/2 tsp. turmeric
• 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
• 1 tsp. celery seed
• 2 T. mustard seed

Directions:
Mix togethers and pour over cucumbers in the large kettle.  Bring to boiling point and seal in hot jars. Process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.

Skillet Chicken with Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce

I am always on the lookout for a quick and easy supper to make.  I think this qualifies.  I usually serve it with rice.

Skillet Chicken with Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

• 2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 5 T. butter, divided into pieces
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup oil-packed, thinly sliced sun-dried tomatoes
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil

Directions:

1. Put chicken breasts in a zip-top plastic bag, then pound to an even thickness using a meat mallet.  Season lightly with salt and pepper.
2. Melt 2 T. butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat; add half of the chicken, and cook 3-4 minutes per side, or until done.  Remove from skillet.  Repeat with the remaining chicken and adding 2 T. butter.
3. Melt  1 T. butter in skillet over medium heat; add garlic, Italian seasoning  and crushed red pepper flakes.  Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
4. Add wine; bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 2 minutes.  
5. Add broth; bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.  
6. Stir in cream and tomatoes; simmer 5 minutes.
7. Return chicken to skillet; stir in basil.  Cook 4-5 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly heated and sauce is thickened.

Makes 4-6 servings.  Calories 471

Sour Cream Apple Pie

This is an apple pie my mom would make.  She got a quart of cream every week from a farmer.  My dad would eat cream on his cereal every day (and he lived to be 98!) and often some cream would be left and become sour.  That is the sour cream she used, a little different than the sour cream I buy. It was a favorite pie at our house when I was growing up.  Be sure to cut the apples small (and even then they are sometimes a little firm after baking).  If you want to be sure they are softer, you could cook them a couple minutes first. I never chop them finely, maybe I will try that sometime.

Sour Cream Apple Pie

Ingredients:

Pie filling

• 2 cups finely chopped tart apples
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 T. flour
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 egg, well beaten
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1- 9 inch unbaked pie crust

Crumb topping

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 cup cold butter

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Make the pie filling first. Combine sugar and flour.  Add cream, egg, vanilla and salt.  Beat until smooth.  Add apples, then mix again.
3. Pour into pastry-lined pie pan.
4. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.  Reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake 30 minutes.  
5. While the pie is baking, mix crumb topping together with a pastry blender or fork.  After 30 minutes of baking, remove pie from oven.  Sprinkle crumb mixture over pie.  Return to oven and bake at 325 degrees for another 20 minutes.
6. Cool before cutting pie.

Servings: 8. Calories: 289

Avgolemono Soup (Greek Lemon Chicken Rice Soup)

Les loves the Avgolemono soup at Nupa, our local Greek restaurant.  I found this recipe in the Costco magazine and knew he would love it.  For the chicken, you can use a rotisserie chicken, making it even simpler to put together.

Avgolemono Soup (Greek Lemon Chicken Rice Soup)

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion
• 2 T. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 (32-oz) carton chicken stock, or equivalent chicken stock
• 5 cups water
• 1 cup arborio or white rice, uncooked
• 2 eggs
• 1 rotisserie chicken, skin and bones removed, and meat cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• juice of 2 lemons
• Dash of ground white pepper (black pepper is fine too)

Directions:

1. Sauté the onion in olive oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat until the onion is soft but not brown.  
2. Add chicken stock and water, and bring to a boil.  
3. Add rice and cook about 20 minutes, until rice is fully cooked and grains are expanded.
4. Crack eggs into a large heatproof mixing cup, then whisk until blended.  Ladle 1 cup of the hot broth into the eggs, then quickly whisk or use an immersion blender to combine.  
5. Add the hot broth and egg mixture back to the soup. 
6. Add the chicken, lemon juice and pepper.  Stir to incorporate.  Heat through, then ladle into bowls.

Makes 8 servings.  Calories 148

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love soft chocolate chip cookies, and this is a great chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position, then preheat oven to 325 degrees.  
2. Line 2 baking sheets with  parchment paper.  
3. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl.
4. Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, beat melted butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes.  
5. Add egg, extra egg yolk, and vanilla.  Beat until combined. Reduce speed to low, then add flour mixture in 3 portions until just combined, scraping down bowl as needed.  
6. Stir in chocolate chips by hand.
7. Working with 2 tablespoons of dough at a time, roll into balls and space them 2 inches apart on prepared sheets.  
8. Bake cookies 1 sheet at a time, until edges are set and beginning to brown but centers are still soft and puffy, about 15-20 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking.
9. Let cookies cool on the sheet pan for 10 minutes, then place on cooling rack.  Enjoy!

Servings 24 Calories 180

Ricotta Cheese

Homemade ricotta cheese is so luscious and so simple to make.  I tried it  and loved the texture and taste.  Keep this cheese refrigerated up to 5 days.  Use the whey to add to soups and homemade breads.  Give it a try!

Ricotta Cheese

Ingredients:

• 4 layers of cheesecloth
• 8 cups whole milk
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar

Directions:

1. Line a mesh sieve with cheesecloth and set over a bowl.  Set a separate fine-mesh sieve over a large bowl.
2. Heat milk, cream, and salt in a pot over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture reaches 180 degrees, about 18 minutes; remove from heat.
3. Gently stir in vinegar and let mixture sit to allow curds to form, about 10 minutes.
4. Gently skim the curds from the whey and transfer to the cheesecloth-lined sieve.  Slowly pour whey through the fine-mesh sieve, then transfer curds (if any) to the cheesecloth-lined sieve.
5. Rest a wooden spoon across top of cheesecloth-lined sieve.  Gather corners of cloth on each side of the spoon and tie together so ricotta is suspended from the spoon.
6. Drain ricotta for 2 hours for pancakes, cannoli, and a ricotta tart.  Drain 3 hours for Ricotta-stuffed shells or manicotti (I usually just drain it for 3 hours).

Easy Granola

I posted a different granola recipe on this blog already, but this one is a lot simpler.  It only uses a few ingredients and can be made quickly.  It is great with yogurt and fruit. Thanks Dan Petron for this easy recipe!

Granola

Ingredients:

• 4 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup chopped nuts
• 2 T. olive oil
• 2 T. honey
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix oats and nuts on a baking sheet pan.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the olive oil, honey and syrup.
4. Mix all ingredients together.  Add cinnamon if desired.
5. Bake for 12-20 minutes, depending on how dark you want it. I told you this was simple!

Easy Instant Pot Cold Start Yogurt

I tried making yogurt in my Instant Pot about a year ago.  It worked fine, but it was too thin.  I found this recipe and tried it again.  It worked so well, and was so easy to do.  Give it a try if you like yogurt and have and Instant Pot.  You must have a yogurt setting for this method and use ultra pasteurized milk for it to work.  Using creamer or sweetened condensed milk is optional, but only for flavor.  This recipe will work for the 3 quart, 6 quart or 8 quart Instant Pot.  If you use Fage or Oui for your starter yogurt you will get a mild yogurt.  If you use Chobani, Siggis and Greek Gods you will get  more tangy yogurt. 

Homemade Yogurt

Ingredients:

• 1/2 gallon Ultra Pasteurized, Ultra High Temp or shelf stable milk (if using Fairlife milk, 1 carton (52 oz) is fine).
• 1 Tablespoon Fresh plain or vanilla yogurt, with live cultures, not opened
• OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS: (use a full two Tablespoons of yogurt as your starter and add it to you milk:
•   14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk (use the whole can or half of it), or
•   16 oz. Natural Bliss creamer (vanilla or sweet cream or others), or
•   1-2 cups heavy cream or half & half milk
• **If you do not use the sweetened condensed milk or creamer, you can add 1 tsp. of vanilla extract and your choice of sweetener after your yogurt has chilled/strained.

Directions:

1. Make sure your Instant Pot & utensils are clean and free of soap residue.  
2. Pour the milk into the Instant Pot insert.  Stir in the optional milk/cream ingredient, if desired, making sure it is whisked in very well.
3. Whisk in 1-2 Tablespoons of fresh yogurt, dissolving it well.
4. Cover the Instant Pot with the IP lid in the locked position and the pressure valve closed.
5. Select "Yogurt Normal", according to your model.  If you have the ULTRA model, set at  Medium or at a customized setting of any temp between 100-110 degree F range.
6. Select the incubation time for 8 hours.  You can choose a longer time (up to 24 hours, by pushing the (+) button) if you want a more tangy yogurt.
7. The IP will beep and began counting up.  When finished, the IP will beep and your display will show YOGT.
8. Remove your pot of yogurt.  Cover and chill it in the fridge for at least 4-6 hours.
9. To transfer the yogurt to strain it, slowly pour the yogurt into another container or strainer.  Do not stir the yogurt until it is fully chilled or strained.
10. After chilling, do a thickness test. Take a spoonful of the chilled yogurt and stir it into a bowl.  It will thin out.  If you want it thicker, you will need to strain it.

This recipe makes 2 quarts of yogurt.  Store in the fridge for up to 2-3 weeks.  Enjoy with fruit and granola!

Chicken, Poblano and Corn Tortilla Soup

I found this recipe in the Food Network Magazine.  It sounded good and somewhat different.  It was so good, and reminded me a bit of the chicken tortilla soup I used to have at the Ground Round!

Chicken, Poblano and Corn Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced (white and green parts separated)
• 2 poblano chile peppers, chopped
• 1 1/4 cups frozen fire-roasted corn, thawed
• 3 T. extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 6 corn tortillas, torn
• 1 tsp. ground coriander
• 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 10-ounce can diced tomatoes with green chilies
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 1/4 cup light sour cream

Directions:

1. Combine the onion, scallion whites, poblanos, 3/4 cup corn and the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.  Season with a big pinch of salt and pepper. 
2. Cook this mixture, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender but not browned, about 5-7 minutes.  
3. Add the tortillas and coriander and cook, stirring until combined, about 1 minute.  
4. Add the chicken broth and tomatoes and bring to a boil.  
5. Season the chicken with salt and add to the pot.  Reduce heat to medium and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 12-15 minutes.  Remove the pot from the heat; remove the chicken to a plate.
6. Working in two batches, transfer the soup to a blender and carefully blend until very smooth (CAUTION: the liquid will be very hot!)  Clean out the pot and return soup to the pot; season with salt.
7. Shred the chicken with your fingers.  Add to the soup along with corn.  Thin sour cream with 1 T. water.
8. Serve soup topped with sour cream and scallion greens.

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 12
Amount per serving
Calories	143
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 6.2g	8%
Saturated Fat 1.7g	8%
Cholesterol 24mg	8%
Sodium 188mg	8%
Total Carbohydrate 11g	4%
Dietary Fiber 1.5g	5%
Total Sugars 1.1g
Protein 11g
Vitamin D 0mcg	0%
Calcium 27mg	2%
Iron 1mg	6%
Potassium 111mg	2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet.2,000 calorie a day is used for general nutrition advice.