Recipes?

We seem to minimize the use of that word around here. For some crazy reason it is too much associated with work.

For the Confirmation/Graduation party last Sunday, Mom cooked enough food to last us for quite awhile. And enough bakery to last for an extra day or two.

Most of it however, runs along the lines of Shae's post for brownies. In fact, we used that same recipe. Also Rice Crispie Treats (see directions on either cereal box or marshmellow bag), & no-bake cheesecake (read box... I think this was the one thing I actually made). There were also 2 apple pies from Perkins (courtesy of gift certificates from blood drives). We picked the pies up Saturday before going out running (we were going to do it the other way, but the rain rearranged our schedule). The rest of the trip, everytime we got into the car, I would comment on how good the pies smelled. When we got home I was talking about something else and used the phrase "easy as pie" without realizing the pun.

The warm weather causes my dad to run the AC. Mom is loathe to use the oven during the summer, she tries to keep baking to the slow cooker and toaster oven. Or has dad grill hamburgers outside.

The one thing we made that I can guess a recipe for would be stuffed peppers. These were made in the slow cooker, which in our household is a rectangular-shaped container. A vague approximation of the recipe is as follows:
Cut green peppers in half.
Peppers will be stuffed with a mixture of rice and ground beef.
Cook enough rice for the # of peppers you wish to make.
Mix rice and uncooked (or cooked) beef.
Place mixture into peppers.
Cover base of cooking container in sauce.
Place peppers in container.
Cook until done. If beef was not originally cooked, make sure it is cooked.

Mom usually does not cook the ground beef. However, when I asked if she needed it cooked, I heard a response of "yes." The problem was, she heard the question as "should I leave this out?" as opposed to "should I cook this?" Luckily for me, she decided that since the meat was still frozen, it was just as well to cook it in advance so she wouldn't have to worry about whether or not it was done.

Well, I think that's all the talking about food I'll do for the time being. I see leftovers for dinner for the next few nights, but that was one idea while it was all being cooked for the party.

Manna

It seems like we need a new post here, but I haven't done a lot baking lately. Unless you count the brownies I made for Paul the night he came home from Florida.

Directions: Buy brownie mix. Follow instructions on mix. BORING!

So instead I will share a creative use of leftovers.

Cook in frying pan:

3/4 lb ground beef
leftover fried rice
1/2 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1/2 onion
diced tomatoes
chili powder
cauliflower
broccoli

What is it?

Manna

Cookies from Holland

Where by "from Holland" I mean cookies I made while visiting one of my former roommates in Holland MI a few weekends ago. We baked 2 types of cookies. The "normal" type was chocolate chip per the recipe on the bag of chocolate chips. The other kind I had never made before. It involved a cake mix, cool whip, and rolling balls of dough in powdered sugar. It goes something as follows:
1 cake mix
1 egg
1 (8 oz) container "frozen whipped topping"
optional: food coloring to make the dough brighter (we made neon blue cookies)
Flavoring can also be added (we added a tsp of vanilla; there were some other flavors the recipe suggested, but I forget)

Next: coat hands with powdered sugar. Then take the amount of dough for one cookies and roll it in the powdered sugar. Place powdered sugar coated ball onto cookie pan.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes.

This isn't the first time I'd seen cookies made using cake mix, however, it was a different recipe from what I was used to. And the blue food coloring coupled with the powdered sugar gave them an interesting look.

Quick update

as this was all my fault to begin with, and I feel like a heel for not following up with it. ><

(I had this entire paragraph that apparently got deleted accidentally when I went to edit it. I blame the touchpad.) As the parents (both sets) are coming by for the weekend, the only thing on my brain lately has been something like "EWCLEANING" and what-not. The lack of motivation was evident. This weekend, though, we'll be barbecuing steaks and ordering pizza from the local Brunos (they make BIG pizzas). I'm thinking of making ice cream tiramisu (courtesy of the latest Woman's Day) for the horde, but I'm at a loss as to what to serve for Friday. My brother doesn't like fish, and we'd thought fish would be a nice thing to have so people won't overload on beef this weekend... (variety and all). Maybe I'll make adobo.

Adobo (Filipino recipe):


1 1/2 lb chicken or pork (it can be cut up before or after cooking, my mom likes to use drumsticks)
1/2 cup soy sauce
8 cloves garlic (crushed)
1/2 cup vinegar
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp black pepper
1/2 tsp MSG (that's monosodium glutamate, optional)
1-3 bay leaves, depending on size, for flavor only

Mix everything in a pot and let marinate for ~30 minutes. Cook over low heat for about 45 min., or until meat is tender, stirring occasionally. Take care not to let the sauce cook completely out. Serve with white rice (take the leaves out when ready to serve).

paraphrased from my sister's rendition of the recipe. The time I tried this I used a slow cooker and forgot the oyster sauce, but it still makes for a good meal, if you want something different. Follow the slow cooker's directions for timing on meats (6-8 hours on low) for that version.

Anyway, time to read backlog. ><

(Shae should totally let 'Manda take part ^^ - back to reading backlogs.)

Chicken Casserole

Most Friday nights my parents watch our children. If Paul gets off work on time, we have a dinner date. This week I thought it would be nice to have a quiet dinner at home instead of eating out. I asked Paul what he would like for me to fix. His response is reflective of the fact that we have been living mostly on beef for quite some time now. He wants chicken casserole.

Here's the chicken casserole I plan to make.

Chicken-Broccoli Bake

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cups rice -cooked
1 cup broccoli florets (I usually use frozen, it's easier)
1/4 cup red pepper finely chopped
1 small can cream of chicken soup
3/4 cup Cheddar cheese shredded finely
2/3 cup cornflakes

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Cut boneless, skinless chicken breasts into small pieces.
Pan fry chicken with a small amount of olive oil.
Cover bottom of 8x8 pan with rice.
Place chicken on top of rice.
Sprinkle broccoli and pepper over chicken.
Cover with Cream of Chicken soup.
Sprinkle cheese on top.
Crush cornflakes and sprinkle on top

Bake for about 30 minutes.

By the way, I think it's about time for someone else to post something on here

Meatballs

I am in the mood to make meatloaf. This is a rather strange thing really, especially since I am not in the mood to eat meatloaf. That's okay though. Sometimes I make meatloaf and then freeze it for a later time when I don't have time to cook. However, I realized that this wasn't such a good idea when I saw that we were out of the aluminum foil disposable baking pans. So I figured I will make meatballs instead (as soon as I am done with this post). Meatballs are basically the same a meatloaf only rolled into balls instead of in a pan.

Recipe:

Gather the following ingredients.

1.5 lbs ground beef
1/2 onion finely chopped
1/4 cup celery finely chopped
1/4 cup carrots finely chopped
1/4 cup green pepper finely chopped
1/4 cup ketchup (or spaghetti sauce)
1/4 cup mustard (prepared)
2 large eggs
1 cup rolled oats
dashes of seasonings, per your preference (suggestions: basil, oregano, thyme, garlic, sage, chili powder)

Preheat oven to 400.

Roll into balls.

Place on a cookie sheet and bake for about 30 minutes.

Note: I never actually measure anything, I just go by appearance. Feel free to do the same. If you are using extra lean ground beef you may want to add a small amount of milk.

To Freeze:

Leave meatballs on cookie sheet, and let them cool so they are not really hot. Place in the freezer. Once meatballs are frozen, remove them from the cookie sheet and place them in ziploc freezer bags (return to freezer promptly).

If you would rather a meatloaf, do not roll into balls. Place in loaf pan. Bake for about one hour.