Holiday Staples with New Flavors

 

 

I am all for family traditions…can anyone say “green salad”, and no I don’t mean lettuce, but that is a recipe for another day. When it comes to the holiday table, I like to vary my flavors. I cannot have the same foods on the holidays year after year after year after year after year. You get the picture right? Today I would like to share with you two new recipes for traditional holiday side dishes: stuffing and sweet potatoes. I encourage you to think outside the box when it comes to your holiday menus.

I must confess….I love just about any kind of stuffing, but I get sick of the same general flavors of poultry seasoning or apples. A few years ago, we were at my Aunt’s house for one of the holidays (Thanksgiving or Christmas. I can’t even remember which now!) and she had a new stuffing recipe that has become my new favorite! It’s spicy and flavorful and not your “typical” stuffing. I LOVE it! Even my non stuffing eater of a husband likes this one. I am not sure where the recipe originally came from, so I cannot give credit, but I will share it will you all.  At least this way I will have it online too, instead of jotted down on a piece of scrap paper! Note: I have never made this inside a bird.

Cornbread, Chorizo and Jalapeño Dressing

3/4 c butter

1 1/2 c coarsely chopped onion

2  jalapeño peppers seeded and minced

1/2 lb chorizo sausage with casings removed browned, drained and crumbled

1 6 oz. package cornbread stuffing mix

3 c dry bread crumbs

2 c warm chicken stock

1 egg beaten

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

5 chopped celery stalks

1 red or green bell pepper

1/2 c fresh parsley chopped

1 tsp dry oregano

1/2 tsp dry coriander

1/2 tsp dry sage

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/8 tsp nutmeg

Melt butter in a pan and add onions, celery, and bell pepper. Saute 5 min. In a large bowl add bread crumbs, sausage, chicken broth and remaining ingredients. Stir together and place in 9×13 baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes at 375º.

Now, for the sweet potatoes pictured above. Don’t they look wonderful? They sure taste wonderful! One thing, I don’t like your normal marshmallow covered sweet potato casserole. And the thought of canned sweet potatoes or yams make me want to hurl. This is for the real deal…fresh sweet potatoes or yams. I bought the  ones to make this recipe on sale last week for 4 lbs for a $1! Time to stock the freezer. I am not sure how well this recipe will freeze. I will sure try it out and let you know! If it freezes well,l it would be a great side dish to make ahead for your holiday meal and just heat it up on your big day!  Update: It can be frozen! I stuck mine in a ziplock and froze. I then thawed  it in the fridge and microwaved to heat. Tasted great! This recipe is loosely based off a pomegranate glazed sweet potato recipe that I have had in the past and would work with pomegranates instead of cranberries. I just had cranberries and cranberry juice on hand, so I made my own version!

Cranberried Sweet Potatoes

3 large fresh sweet potatoes or yams or about 5 cups

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp honey

1 cup fresh cranberries

salt and pepper to taste

Peel and cube sweet potatoes. Place in 9 x 13 baking dish. Add oil, honey, salt, pepper and cranberries and give it a stir. Roast at 400º for 45-50 minutes or until tender. Stir a couple times during roasting.

Glaze:

2 Tbsp cranberry juice

2 Tbsp honey

Simmer for a couple minutes on the stove. Pour over roasted potatoes and stir just before serving.

Note: You could also add some chopped toasted walnuts or pecans…my boys won’t eat it with them, so I leave it out.

April Freezer Cooking Results and Recipes Part 1

I got everything on my list for today done! I am just happy that I was able to accomplish everything I had planned plus I made brownies, brats and mashed potatoes for dinner.

As I said in my planning post, I did a few things over the weekend. I doubled this sourdough english muffin recipe. Homemade english muffins are SO much better than the store bought ones. There are recipes out there that don’t require a sourdough starter as well,  if you want to try them. With the english muffins I made sausage, egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches for Dallas. I had all 5 burners on my stove going to cook them all! I then sliced up some sausage and cooked that. I scrambled some eggs together and cooked them in some metal biscuit cutters to get a round shape for freezing. Mixing the egg yolk and white together is better for freezing so the eggs don’t get a funny texture. We just wrapped them in plastic wrap and put them in a ziplock to freeze. They take about 30-45 seconds to heat in the microwave.

English muffins "baking"

Look at those yummy nooks and crannies!

Our assembly line!

I also made some crockpot black beans over the weekend.

This morning I started with my main freezer cooking list before I took Lance to school. First, I rinsed some pinto beans and threw them in the crockpot with some hot water on high. Then, I mixed up 5 batches of my no knead pizza dough (3 cups bread flour, 1 1/2 cups warm water, 1/4 tsp yeast, 1/2 tablespoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1 tablespoon sugar….stir it all up and put in a baggie or covered bowl and into the fridge.). There is a full tutorial on homemade pizza HERE. I will let it ferment in the fridge for 24 hours then freeze. I will also be using one of them tomorrow for my BBQ Cheeseburger Muffin Bites. To thaw…put in the fridge the night before pizza or on the counter for the afternoon works too 😉 All of that took maybe 15 minutes.

Mmmm. Pizza dough.

When we got home from school around noon Lance wanted to make a cake, but we settled on brownies instead, so we whipped those up quick together. I did cut them and freeze them so I won’t eat the whole pan sitting on the counter! I didn’t know Lance took this picture until I looked at them while writing this post!

Lance taking a picture of himself after licking the brownie spoon!

I put some brown rice on to boil using my homemade chicken stock instead of water and some parsley from my moms garden. My husband won’t eat most brown rice, but we really like “sweet brown rice” that I buy in bulk at the health food store. It has a much better flavor than other brown rice. I cooked up 2 cups of dry rice which made enough for 4 dinners for us. I just thaw and heat with a tablespoon or 2 of water covered in the microwave. It saves a ton of time at dinner since brown rice takes so much longer to cook than white rice and I never remember to put it on the stove in time!

4 dinners of cooked brown rice.

While the rice was bubbling away, I mixed up some Honey Wheat Buns out of my grandma’s cookbook. These are so soft and yummy. It makes a huge batch though, so I can’t use my mixer and I have to knead it by hand. It’s a good arm workout! Today I made 28 dinner rolls, 6 hotdog buns and 2 loaves of bread from one batch of this. You can make any combination you like. It makes 4 loaves of bread of you just do that. I have no idea how many rolls it makes of you only make rolls. A lot I would imagine! I always make a combination of things, so I don’t know. As for the loaves, I like preslice before I put them in the freezer so that I can pull out 1 or 2 for toast or a sandwich. I also wrap my loaves in plastic wrap and then foil to keep them fresh. Make sure you freeze as soon as it’s cool to keep maximum freshness.

Honey Wheat Buns

Blend in blender: 1 cup cottage cheese and 1/2 cup warm water

Mix: 3 cups warm water, 2 packages of yeast (4 1/2 tsp), 2 Tbsp sugar, let sit 5 min.

Add:

cottage cheese mixture

3/4 cup honey

1/2 cup butter

2 eggs

2 1/2 tsp salt

3 cups whole wheat flour

6 1/2 cups white flour (this may vary a bit depending on your climate)

Knead well, about 5-6 min. Rise until double in bulk, about 1 hour. Form into buns, rolls, loaves or whatever you want. I like to weigh my rolls so they are even in size. I like 1 1/2 oz for dinner rolls and 2 1/2 oz for hotdog buns. Rise until double in bulk again. Bake rolls at 375° for 15-20 min (depends on size, 15 for dinner rolls, 20 for hotdog buns). Bake loaves at 350° for 35-40 min. I actually bake mine at 325, but my oven runs a bit hot for bread. Butter tops while hot.

Dough after first rise taking up the entire bowl!

Hot buns out of the oven.

Still working on the best way to shape hotdog buns....

2 loaves too!!

While the bread was baking I started on my double batch of nacho dip. This is for Dallas to take on the boys camping trip later this month. They all like it a ton….well I do too. It is mighty tasty. I forgot to take a picture, so you will just have to imagine some yummy cheesyness.

Hamburger Cheese Dip

1 lb hamburger browned (I only used 1 1/2 lb for my double batch)

1 lb velveeta cheese cut up

1 can rotel tomatoes and green chilis

2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 Tbsp chili powder

Mix all together and put in crockpot to melt and cook on low. Serve with tortilla chips.

At last, my beans were done. They seemed to take forever today and I am not sure why. I cooked them on high for 8 hours! I pulverized, and I mean demolished, some onions and garlic in my food processor. Dallas does not like chunky onions, so I have to make them into juice! I put that, along with the beans, a little bean juice and some santa maria seasoning (our favorite seasoning around here) in a pan and smashed them all together with my potato masher. Once they were smooshed to my liking and thickened a bit, I put them in baggies to freeze. The beans take a bit of salt, but santa maria’s has quite a lot in it, so I don’t add extra. I am not sure how much of the dry beans I cooked since I just dumped out of my big bag, but I ended up with 5 dinners worth in the end.

Finally, the beans are done.

Smashing, smashing , smashing...

Ready for bagging...

Whew, all done….time to veg on the couch now…until tomorrow.

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Freezer Cooking: The Results and Recipes

I sure had a busy day around here. I got everything on my list done except the tortillas. Well, let me rephrase, the pork and chicken legs are still cooking, but will be done shortly. My back decided it was done for the day and rolling tortillas will have to wait for another day…maybe tomorrow. To view my menu for the month click HERE.

1. I got one package of chicken thighs cooked, chopped and in the freezer, ready to pull out for chicken enchiladas or chicken bacon alfredo bake. I like to use a big cup or a pitcher to hold my ziplocks for easy filling.

2.  I have enough shredded chicken taco meat for 6 dinners of tacos or burritos. I am not sure where I originally got this recipe, so I cannot give credit where it is do, but this is a staple in our house. I do several pounds at once and freeze in dinner sized portions.

Chicken Taco Meat

1 lb chicken (can be whatever cut you like, works well with breasts or thighs)

1 can rotel (tomatoes and green chili, I have also used a can of tomatoes and a can of green chili when I didn’t have rotel. I blend mine since hubby doesn’t like chunky tomatoes)

1 package of taco seasoning (I buy a big jug of taco seasoning at Sam’s club instead of the individual packets)

Dump it all in a crockpot and cook on high for 3-4 hours, shred and cook about 30 minutes longer. You can do it on low for about 6 hours or longer if you add some more water for liquid. Use in tacos or burritos.

3.  I made a double batch of  Lowfat Sourdough Blueberry Muffins. I did substitute unsweetened applesauce for the oil and added a few more blueberries. These are for Lance and I as Dallas doesn’t really care for my healthified muffins! I have exploding blueberries!

 

4. I also made some of these high protein blueberry muffins for Dallas. This is a new venture for me, I don’t think Dallas will like them but you never know. They are a bit strange tasting with so many eggs and the protein powder.

 

5.  Pizza dough was next. Lance and I stirred up 5 batches quick. I love this pizza dough. Last year I went on a little quest to find a pizza dough recipe that we liked. It took me about 6 months and a lot of trial and error to find one that we love and this is it. Better yet, it’s a no knead recipe. Just stir it up and let it sit. LOVE IT. I make it let it sit in the fridge for a day then freeze. To thaw, put it in the fridge the night before you want pizza or on the counter for the afternoon works too. It can sit in the fridge for up to 3 days and still be fine. I don’t bake mine quite as hot as the recipe calls for. I like it at 450° instead of 500°. I also form my dough on parchment paper then just plop the whole thing on the hot pizza stone in the oven for about 10 minutes.

                         Pizza Dough:  3 cups bread flour, 1 1/2 cups warm water, 1/4 tsp yeast, 1/2 tablespoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1 tablespoon sugar….stir it all up and put in a baggie or covered bowl and in the fridge.

6.  Using some pizza dough that I had made in the freezer. I decided to make ham and cheese muffin bites, a variation on this recipe, to use up some of the cheap ham I picked up yesterday. I was able to get 24 from one batch of dough. I used a spoonful of chopped ham and about 1/4 cup of shredded cheddar jack cheese per bite. Bake at 375° for 2o minutes. I figure we can use these for a quick lunch or breakfast. Just nuke for 30 seconds or so a piece. Yum.

7. Flour tortillas…these did not get done. Hopefully soon. This is the recipe I like to use. Do not try and cheat the rest times…you really do need them for the gluten to relax. Ask me how I know!!! I do have a secret ingredient that makes these super, extra yummy. Bacon grease. Yep, that’s right bacon grease instead of the oil/shortening.

8. After the crockpot chicken was done, I washed it and threw in the package of pork chops that I got on sale and made a quick BBQ sauce to simmer it in. Later I will shred it to use for sandwiches on this months menu.

9. After making the ham bites, I portioned out the rest of the ham. It made seven batches worth of ham and I also kept the bone to make some ham and bean soup in the future.

10. Last, I used the package of 13 chicken legs that I got for $2.53 yesterday! Score! I rubbed them with a homemade spice rub…don’t remember where I got the recipe or what it in it, so even I won’t be able to recreate these! I baked them for a while then brushed on some BBQ sauce, we like sweet baby rays, and baked for a bit longer. They are cooling in the fridge. Then I will put them in the freezer too. Although, I think we might have these for dinner tonight!

 That’s it. That was my day. I hope I can inspire you to try a bit of freezer cooking yourself!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Baking Day: Apple Oatmeal Whole Wheat Muffins

This week it was my turn to take a snack in for my son’s class at school. They send home a list every month of what to bring and which day is yours. I love that he is in private school and you can actually make things from home and take them in. definitely a bonus for me! Yesterday was Lance’s day to bring muffins, pears and milk. Since the school likes to limit sugar and use whole wheat and whole grains I went on a search for a new recipe. Last time, I was also given muffins and I made some wonderful Whole Wheat Pumpkin muffins back in December. After a few searches I came across an apple oatmeal muffin that looked like it would be great for the kids and I had all the ingredients on hand. Gotta love that! They turned out very tasty, I tried one, really I did. Are you surprized? Well, I had to test them out right?! They are more dense and less sweet than a traditional muffin, but I found them to be very flavorful.

Apple Oatmeal Whole Wheat Muffins

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 banana mashed

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

3/4 cup milk (the original called for soymilk, but I don’t particularly care for soymilk, so I used regular milk)

1 apple cut into chunks

1/4 cup walnuts chopped (optional, I left these out since we cannot use nuts for the kids)

Cut up your apple and preheat the oven to 350°. Mix all the dry ingredients. Mix the banana, applesauce and milk. Add wet ingredients, apple and nuts to the dry ingredients and stir just to combine. Place about a 1/4 cup in each hole in a greased or papered regular size muffin tin. It makes 12. Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

I thought I took a picture of the muffins, but I can’t find it. So, instead I will bring you some pictures by Lance. The camera is always in the kitchen now that I have this blog and take pictures of just about everything I make. It always seems to be covered in flour too!  Today, when I was working on something that will be featured next week, Lance decided he wanted to take a few pictures. Enjoy these abstract photos of my mixer done by my 3 year old!

For more whole grain recipes head over to Life as Mom for the Ultimate Recipe Swap.

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Baking Day: Classic Sourdough Bread

I love bread. I mean really love it. I would have to say the best smell in the world is a fresh loaf of bread baking in the oven. Do they make air freshener in that scent, how about candles? I have been baking bread just about as long as I can remember. I have a recipe from my grandma for the best Oatmeal Cinnamon Bread in the world that I have made so many times I could do it with my eyes closed. Don’t worry, that post will come at a later time. Recently, I decided to challenge myself. I have embarked on the journey into sourdough. Mmmmm sourdough. It is much more complicated and involved than I ever thought. It really is like having a pet. Sourdough must have a starter. What is a starter you say? Well…it is a mixture of flour, water and a tiny amount of yeast that has been allowed to ferment. If kept out of the refrigerator it must be “fed” daily by removing a portion of it and adding more flour and water to keep the yeast happy and producing. The portion that is removed can then be given to a friend or turned into anything from bread, to cake, to waffles and muffins by first forming a “sponge”. That is just a way of saying you add more flour and water and let it sit about 12 hours before you use it.  I have tried it all and our freezers are packed full of goodies. I finally had to retire Spongette from the counter to the fridge where she only has to be fed once a week. Here is Spongette when I first started her about a month ago.   

Spongette, yep I named my starter.

I have found a classic sourdough bread recipe that we are very fond of around here. It has a nice crispy crust with a chewy dense crumb…oh, so good. I am eating some as I type! Just know that I am still new to the sourdough world, so my techniques are not perfect and neither is my bread, but it tastes good and that’s all that matters!  The original recipe can be found here about 3/4 of the way down the page. I will type it out for convenience.   

Classic Sourdough Bread

1 cup sourdough starter   

1 1/3 cups warm water (body temp)   

1 tablespoon sugar   

1 tablespoon salt   

1 teaspoon baking soda   

5-6 cups flour, I use unbleached bread flour   

cornmeal for sprinkling   

The Sponge

Place starter, water and 3 c flour in a ceramic or glass bowl (NOT METAL). Stir vigorously, cover with plastic wrap and put aside someplace warm for 2-24 hours depending on how sour you want your bread. I usually let it work about 6 hours or so. I like to leave mine in the oven with only the light on, that’s about 78 degrees for me.   

The Dough

After the sponge is bubbly and  has expanded it’s time to make dough! Blend salt, sugar and baking soda with 2 cups of flour. Then add in the sponge. When the dough becomes cohesive, turn out onto floured surface, add flour so it is a stiff dough (up to 1 cup) and knead for 3-4 min. Let the dough rest for 10-15 min. and knead 3-4 min again. I got lazy this year and finally got a kitchen aid mixer for Christmas. I let the mixer knead for me now!   

This is me working hard at kneading!

Shape dough into loaves and place on a cookie sheet or baking stone sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover with plastic wrap sprayed with a little cooking spray and let rise until double. This time can very depending on how active your starter is and the room temperature. Mine took about 3 hours.   

Shaped dough before the last rise.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Heat up a few cups of water in the microwave and place in an ovenproof container on the rack below where you are going to bake. Cut slits into the loaves every 2 inches about 1/4 inch deep just before baking with a very sharp knife. I use a razor blade. Brush with cold water. Bake at 425 degrees (the recipe says 450, but mine got too dark at that temp) for 25 minutes.   

The finished product.

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What food means to me…

I have been debating as to what to post as my first entry on the blog. I figured, it should be about food. I am obsessed with food. It may be a little unnatural, but I just can’t help it.  Maybe, it’s because I like to eat it so much! I have been cooking and baking for as long as I can remember. It is something that I cherish. Food holds so many comforting memories of family and friends and the time we have shared together. It is a way for me to connect to the older generations of my family with recipes that have been handed down over time. The skills that have been passed down and learned through trial and error in the kitchen are priceless. I only hope that I will be able to pass these skills on to my child as well. At 3, Lance already loves to knead bread, roll dough, cut out cookies and put them on the cookie sheet. He is an excellent stirrer too!! So, we are working on those kitchen skills. I will not have one of those boys who goes off to college and can only make mac and cheese. Oh, he’ll be able to make mac and cheese, but it will be from scratch!

Food is a way that I can provide for my family.  I am not out in the world making a living, but I am providing in the best way that I can….to the bellies of my men! So, be on the lookout for great recipes, new and old, original and not, as well as tutorials on how I do everything from baking to shopping and meal planning.

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Frugal Tip of the Week

I will be starting a weekly feature on the blog. The frugal tip of the week. These will be some of the things I do in order to save money in many aspects of running a home. Many of my tips will be on the basis of making things from scratch. This weeks tip is not an exception to that. My first frugal tip….Make your own laundry soap. Yes, homemade laundry detergent. Did you know that was possible? Did you know that it is much cheaper than purchasing laundry soap? Did you know that it is SUPER easy?

 It is all of those things and more! It took me 5 minutes to make mine! And the best part…it only costs 2 cents per load. Yes, that is right, only 2 cents! It is also very gentle on the skin. We have super sensitive skin in this family. Most of the comercially prepared detergents give one or more of us hives. I was using a natural laundry soap that I had to order online. Then I did some research and found I can make a detergent that does what my all natural detergent did. This simple detergent cleans well, uses ingredients that are easy to find and CHEAP!

Here is what you need:

2 cups finely grated Zote Soap

1 cup Borax

1 cup Super Washing Soda

Mix and use 1 Tablespoon per load, 2 if you’re really dirty! That’s it, easy peasy.

 

 I get my Zote at Big Lots for $0.80 a bar. I have also seen it at Walmart and Stater Bros for around $1. It makes about 3 cups grated per bar.  The Borax is about $3 at most grocery stores or Walmart.  I think there was enough for about 11 batches in the box. The washing soda was a bit harder to find. I got mine at a local non-chain grocery store for $3.50. There was enough for about 5 batches in the box. I have heard that Albertson’s carries it or you can call 1-800-524-1328 and ask for a location near you that carries it. All of these products are found in the laundry isle. There are other soaps you can use in place of the Zote as well. Click here for a list of several homemade laundry soaps. For more frugal tips, visit Life as Mom Frugal Fridays.

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