Tonight I cooked up what I'm calling a rustic country hash with a twist. It's simple and inexpensive that anyone can easily do. I heated oil in an iron skillet and cut up about five medium potatoes. I let the potatoes fry up while I then cut up one onion and two green peppers. Everything was thrown in the skillet with the potatoes to cook for about 20 minutes. Then a spicy cheese sauce was prepared. In a sauce pan I boiled 2 cups of milk, two jalapenos, a mixture of equal parts flour and melted butter*, and two cups of shredded American cheese. That boiled till thickened and then simmered until the vegetables were cooked. Place mixture on top of fried tortillas or rice and top with cheese sauce. That's it, and it's so good! My mouth is watering while I'm writing this.
*See: Tips to Eat or Cook By
Monday, August 31, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Stretching Pennies
OK so tonight's dinner was all about stretching your pennies. We had a simple pasta dish by using a jar of organic spaghetti sauce. I used Meijer brand because it happens to be one of the cheapest organic sauces I could find, but of course you don't have to use organic. To stretch this simple and inexpensive sauce I added fresh vegetables (I had green peppers, mushrooms, and an onion), garlic, red wine, and dried oregano and basil. After I let the sauce simmer for 15 minutes I happened to have mascarpone cheese (almost like and Italian cream cheese which can have a bunch of uses*) that I added at the end to make the sauce slightly creamier and richer. I tossed in whole wheat spaghetti, and that was the meal. This meal gave us 5 large helpings.
Take this idea to stretch a jar of spaghetti sauce; it's an easy, healthy, and yummy way to feed your family or to make for a romantic dinner.
*See: Tips to Eat or Cook By
Take this idea to stretch a jar of spaghetti sauce; it's an easy, healthy, and yummy way to feed your family or to make for a romantic dinner.
*See: Tips to Eat or Cook By
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Richness and Thoughtfulness in Every Bite
Tonight's dinner was an unexpected and extremely thoughtful surprise from a good friend. She brought over chicken stir fry and chocolate chip banana nut bread. The dinner was an incredibly special treat, and the banana bread became the star of the meal. Eating the soft, chewy, rich banana bread reminded me of my momma's and the days where I would smell it baking in the kitchen when I came home from school.
Baking my momma's banana bread always reminds me of my childhood; when I would eat it for a late night snack by warming it up and smothering it in cream cheese.
Whenever you happen to have leftover bananas that are too ripe to eat don't ever throw them away. My momma's recipe will put those bananas to good use. You have got to try this it makes a great breakfast, desert or snack!
Momma's Rich Banana Bread
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups of bananas smashed (6 fully ripe)
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup sour cream
3 cups four
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine ingredients in order listed, mixing after each addition. Beat one minute. Bake in two greased and floured 9x5 loaf pans for 1 hour.
The difference between my momma's banana bread and my friend's is the sour cream that adds to it's richness, but the chocolate chips would be a nice, sweet addition which she uses.
Baking my momma's banana bread always reminds me of my childhood; when I would eat it for a late night snack by warming it up and smothering it in cream cheese.
Whenever you happen to have leftover bananas that are too ripe to eat don't ever throw them away. My momma's recipe will put those bananas to good use. You have got to try this it makes a great breakfast, desert or snack!
Momma's Rich Banana Bread
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups of bananas smashed (6 fully ripe)
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup sour cream
3 cups four
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine ingredients in order listed, mixing after each addition. Beat one minute. Bake in two greased and floured 9x5 loaf pans for 1 hour.
The difference between my momma's banana bread and my friend's is the sour cream that adds to it's richness, but the chocolate chips would be a nice, sweet addition which she uses.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Still Yummy
Though I have been studying "Mastering the Art of French Cooking", thanks to my wonderful sister-in-law Mary Lea, I don't plan on cooking from it till next month. So till I begin to try to "master the art of French cooking" as "The Pennyless Cook" I will continue to cook "pennyless" meals till the month is done.
Tonight's meal came from my good friend Emily and here it is....
Stuffed Pepper Explosion
Ingredients:
2 large bell peppers, any color
1 med. onion
1 garlic clove
6 roma tomatos
6 oz ground beef
1 tsp. olive oil
1 1/2 cups cooked rice
1/2 cup grated parmesean cheese
Preheat oven to 350. Chop peppers, onion, garlic and tomatoes. (cut tomatoes in half). Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute beef until mostly cooked through, about 2 mins. Add peppers, onions and garlic. Saute until tender, about 5 mins. Remove from heat and stir in tomatoes, rice and half the cheese. Place mixture in a 9-by9-inch baking dish, cover with foil and bake 30 mins. If your skillet is oven safe, you can cover and bake in it. Remove foil, sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake uncovered 15 more mins.
serves 4
My version, due to my absentmindedness, left out the rice and for flavor added basil, salt, pepper and hot sauce. After that we placed the meat mixture on buns and served them up as as sandwiches, similar to a Sloppy Joe. Even without the rice this version was still cheap and yummy!
Tonight's meal came from my good friend Emily and here it is....
Stuffed Pepper Explosion
Ingredients:
2 large bell peppers, any color
1 med. onion
1 garlic clove
6 roma tomatos
6 oz ground beef
1 tsp. olive oil
1 1/2 cups cooked rice
1/2 cup grated parmesean cheese
Preheat oven to 350. Chop peppers, onion, garlic and tomatoes. (cut tomatoes in half). Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute beef until mostly cooked through, about 2 mins. Add peppers, onions and garlic. Saute until tender, about 5 mins. Remove from heat and stir in tomatoes, rice and half the cheese. Place mixture in a 9-by9-inch baking dish, cover with foil and bake 30 mins. If your skillet is oven safe, you can cover and bake in it. Remove foil, sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake uncovered 15 more mins.
serves 4
My version, due to my absentmindedness, left out the rice and for flavor added basil, salt, pepper and hot sauce. After that we placed the meat mixture on buns and served them up as as sandwiches, similar to a Sloppy Joe. Even without the rice this version was still cheap and yummy!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Dirty, Dirty
Yesterday we celebrated the life of Granny Mac; a woman, that as the pastor described, had a wealthy life that lived out Proverbs 31. We had laid her down to live on that Monday, under the warm sun, where she was surrounded by her wealth. I could have celebrated her life forever with my husband's warm, hilarious family, but today it was back to life, and now a life that is remembering her.
We traveled back home where I would go back to being the stay-at-home mom, and where my husband would go back to working hard at ministry. Along with life back in Louisville is my comfortable spot in the kitchen where I started another meal for my family.
Tonight's meal was something that anyone could easily cook up with, leftovers or whatever you have in your pantry or fridge. I made dirty rice, and it was filling and delicious. I used the leftover roasted chicken that I cooked up last week and browned it in an iron skillet with canola oil, onion, salt, pepper, and chili powder. Rice cooked in chicken broth and and then more vegetables were thrown in the skillet (I happened to have a tomato, green pepper, and jalapeno). I poured in a half cup of white wine and let that cook out. Then the cooked rice was poured in the skillet with 1/4 cup of chicken broth and cooked until rice was browned. Then sprinkle in parsley and oregano. Next thing you'll notice is a clean plate!
Guess what!?!? An incredible sister-in-law and even better friend bought me "Mastering the Art of French Cooking". I will be studying the book the rest of the month and cannot wait to integrate "The Pennyless Cook" and Julia's masterful recipes! Stay tuned for next month's menu....
We traveled back home where I would go back to being the stay-at-home mom, and where my husband would go back to working hard at ministry. Along with life back in Louisville is my comfortable spot in the kitchen where I started another meal for my family.
Tonight's meal was something that anyone could easily cook up with, leftovers or whatever you have in your pantry or fridge. I made dirty rice, and it was filling and delicious. I used the leftover roasted chicken that I cooked up last week and browned it in an iron skillet with canola oil, onion, salt, pepper, and chili powder. Rice cooked in chicken broth and and then more vegetables were thrown in the skillet (I happened to have a tomato, green pepper, and jalapeno). I poured in a half cup of white wine and let that cook out. Then the cooked rice was poured in the skillet with 1/4 cup of chicken broth and cooked until rice was browned. Then sprinkle in parsley and oregano. Next thing you'll notice is a clean plate!
Guess what!?!? An incredible sister-in-law and even better friend bought me "Mastering the Art of French Cooking". I will be studying the book the rest of the month and cannot wait to integrate "The Pennyless Cook" and Julia's masterful recipes! Stay tuned for next month's menu....
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Not Julia, but Grandma Mollie
Without the coveted "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" cook book Julia hasn't entered my household yet, but other "masters" of their own art are teaching me in the meantime, like Grandma Mollie.
Leftovers were tonight just as I planned, but for a little treat we had her homemade Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookies. I'm not the best baker in the world, but I'm learning. These cookies are pretty straightforward and easy to make, but getting the baking time on my stove was the challenge. Some ended up a little overdone and burnt on the bottom, but with mistakes come the "mastering" of cooking or baking....eventually.
So this recipe, which came out of Country Living, made about 40 cookies. The top rack of cookies I baked came out perfect, chewy and melt-in-your-mouth delicious. The bottom rack, however, should have been taken out of the oven earlier because they were definitely not perfect.
The recipe called for a 15 minute cooking time, which would've been correct for the bottom rack, but the top rack would've been undercooked. I ended up cooking the entire batch for 19 minutes. It's always smart to just consider your first baking adventure on a recipe a test run.
These cookies aren't incredibly healthy, but they make a good energy snack or a sweet end to a savory meal with a tall glass of ice cold milk. They also can make a tasty, cute gift* for friends and family.
Grandma Mollie's Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookies
"Reader's Recipe" Karen Lelbowitz of Stony Brook, New York
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened*
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups old fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 1/4 cups chocolate chips
1/4 cup milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. In a medium bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Stir in eggs until well combined. In separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients, plus raisins, walnuts, and chocolate chips. Add dry mixture to wet mixture and stir to combine. Stir in milk. Drop dough in heaping tablespoonfuls, about 1 inch apart on the baking sheet. Bake until golden brown and slightly crunchy, about 15 minutes.
This was an original recipe of a Country Living reader. If you have any original recipes that you're proud of please share them with me and you can also go to www.countryliving.com/cooks.
*See: Tips to Eat or Cook By
Leftovers were tonight just as I planned, but for a little treat we had her homemade Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookies. I'm not the best baker in the world, but I'm learning. These cookies are pretty straightforward and easy to make, but getting the baking time on my stove was the challenge. Some ended up a little overdone and burnt on the bottom, but with mistakes come the "mastering" of cooking or baking....eventually.
So this recipe, which came out of Country Living, made about 40 cookies. The top rack of cookies I baked came out perfect, chewy and melt-in-your-mouth delicious. The bottom rack, however, should have been taken out of the oven earlier because they were definitely not perfect.
The recipe called for a 15 minute cooking time, which would've been correct for the bottom rack, but the top rack would've been undercooked. I ended up cooking the entire batch for 19 minutes. It's always smart to just consider your first baking adventure on a recipe a test run.
These cookies aren't incredibly healthy, but they make a good energy snack or a sweet end to a savory meal with a tall glass of ice cold milk. They also can make a tasty, cute gift* for friends and family.
Grandma Mollie's Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookies
"Reader's Recipe" Karen Lelbowitz of Stony Brook, New York
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened*
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups old fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 1/4 cups chocolate chips
1/4 cup milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. In a medium bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Stir in eggs until well combined. In separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients, plus raisins, walnuts, and chocolate chips. Add dry mixture to wet mixture and stir to combine. Stir in milk. Drop dough in heaping tablespoonfuls, about 1 inch apart on the baking sheet. Bake until golden brown and slightly crunchy, about 15 minutes.
This was an original recipe of a Country Living reader. If you have any original recipes that you're proud of please share them with me and you can also go to www.countryliving.com/cooks.
*See: Tips to Eat or Cook By
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
A Mix of Giada and Rahael Ray
Tonight's meal came from the inspiration of Rachael Ray and Giada de Laurentiis. For the main course I did my own take on Rachael Ray's "Lemon-Glazed Roast Chicken" from The Rachael Ray Show. I happened to have in my freezer two large chicken breasts, on the bone*, that I paid $2.32 for at Meijer. I placed those in a roasting pan and covered in salt and pepper. I sliced a lemon, garlic, and onion and put that on top of the chicken. I drizzled on oil and threw in bay leaves. With the oven preheated to 350 degrees I covered the chicken and roasted it for an hour. Than I made a sauce of honey, white wine, and lemon zest which I poured on top of the chicken and roasted for another 15 minutes.
For my side dish, Giada came to my rescue with her "Rigatoni and Vegetable Bolognese". To get her exact recipe check out www.foodnetwork.com.
Both are delicious. The chicken dish is juicy and tender, with the brightness of the lemon. The pasta dish is exceptionally meaty, though no meat is in the dish, and creamy because of the wonderful addition of mascarpone cheese and the nuttiness of the Parmesan.
The pasta would be great as the main course, which is what we will have tomorrow night for dinner with a mixed green salad. Always try to creatively stretch your leftovers into a meal for the next day. Enjoy!
*See: Tips to Eat or Cook By
For my side dish, Giada came to my rescue with her "Rigatoni and Vegetable Bolognese". To get her exact recipe check out www.foodnetwork.com.
Both are delicious. The chicken dish is juicy and tender, with the brightness of the lemon. The pasta dish is exceptionally meaty, though no meat is in the dish, and creamy because of the wonderful addition of mascarpone cheese and the nuttiness of the Parmesan.
The pasta would be great as the main course, which is what we will have tomorrow night for dinner with a mixed green salad. Always try to creatively stretch your leftovers into a meal for the next day. Enjoy!
*See: Tips to Eat or Cook By
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