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Post by nana on Nov 3, 2017 16:59:20 GMT -6
nana--I don't can, but that was interesting. My mom canned a lot when I was little. I didn't pay much attention though.  I made chicken tacos tonight. My son wanted to help me make something in the crockpot. So, we put in three good sized chicken breasts, sprinkled them with taco seasoning, and then added in 6 oz of cream cheese and 1/4 cup water. He found shredding the cooked chicken a bit tricky at first, but it's an easy meal for a kid to make. I think we will put in less cream cheese next time. The directions were to roll the meat in tortillas and bake in the oven for a bit. I didn't have any tortillas, but we had hard shells already so that is what we went with. It is so nice to hear young ones cooking, . Sounds good. Bring up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.
I have gotten away from canning and have been dehydrating and freezing, not freeze drying, I don't have a machine to do that. And now I don't have the freezer space, repair man came today replaced fan but still not working, he said he thinks it's the mother board now.
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Post by Natalie on Nov 3, 2017 17:41:40 GMT -6
My son's favorite show right now is the Great British Bakeoff. |
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Post by Natalie on Nov 6, 2017 19:41:00 GMT -6
Two out of four of us really liked this Chicken Bacon Casserole. My oldest isn't a big fan of cheese and my youngest isn't a big fan of noodles, but they did try it. Hubby is gone for work, so he didn't get a vote. Preheat oven to 375 and grease bottom of baking dish (I used a 9x9) Boil noodles until al dente. (We used Pipe Rigate) Drain and then put in baking dish; stir in cut up cooked chicken, pieces of cooked bacon, and a jar of alfredo sauce. I put in probably two cups chicken and 5-6 pieces of bacon. Top with a cup and a half of shredded mozzarella and more crumbled bacon. Bake for 12-15 minutes until cheese is melted, and it is heated through. My daughter (age 9) helped make supper tonight. I had the chicken left over from a whole chicken I had cooked in the crockpot, so the hard part was done. My middle kid had seconds. He thought it was really good. The recipe called for adding ranch dressing to the noodles and stirring that before adding the meat and sauce. I'm not a big fan of ranch, so I left it out. |
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Post by Gary on Nov 7, 2017 11:37:44 GMT -6
My wife loves that show, too. There is good sportsmanship on it, too.
I can only read this thread a little bit at a time because my stomach starts grumbling with excitement.
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Post by nana on Nov 7, 2017 15:21:14 GMT -6
I have made this version a few times and is pretty good, very filling, budget friendly and kid friendly too.
I remember when hubby was laid off and stretching what we had or could afford. I fed 6 with 1/2 lb of hamburger in spaghetti sauce, served it with a salad and bread.
I think this is one of the greatest lessons God taught me during those lean times. He never said I will give you everything you want but he always gave/provided us with what we needed and oftentimes more.
I do use 24 crushed butter crackers instead of the 6 called for, I think because I grew up with more cracker filling in them, it's personal preference. I also substituted steak seasoning for the poultry seasoning and didn't use the mushrooms, they tend to upset our stomachs lately. You may want to add a tablespoon more flour to thicken a bit more too. If you do not have bullion cubes, bullion powder work well and dissolves very easy.
How to Make Salisbury Steak in Mushroom Gravy
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Post by nana on Nov 7, 2017 16:51:03 GMT -6
With the cold weather coming we have breakfast for dinner a couple times a month. This is a fun dinner served with a side of bacon, sausage or ham. Got to warn you, make 1 Dutch baby for every 2 adults. 1 for 3 young children.
If you have never made a Dutch baby they are oh so easy and oh so good.
Traditional Dutch Baby
Dutch Baby Recipe - How to Make Dutch Babies - German Pancakes
Fruit Topped Dutch Baby
Dutch Baby Pancake
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French Toast
Bread of your choice
Eggs
milk
sugar
vanilla
I don't have a recipe for this, I just do it. This is more of a custard French toast that is heavy and dense.
I use equal amounts of egg and milk.
Break eggs, wisk, add same amount of milk, wisk. Add sugar, a tablespoon or so and a splash of vanilla, wisk.
Dip/Soak bread in mixture until it absorbs some mixture and put in a skillet that has been on medium-low. Place a lid on and cook about 4 to 5 minutes. When the bottom is golden, turn over and re-lid. Cook and additional 5 minutes or until center is set and cooked. If browning to quickly turn heat down.
If using thicker bread or Texas toast finish in the oven about an additional 10 minutes at 350 degrees after taking out of pan to make sure the center sets and cooks all the way through.
You may need to use a spay or butter in pan if not using a good nonstick pan.
Serve with drizzled melted butter, then add powdered sugar or cinnamon and sugar or fruit with a dusting of powder sugar.
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Post by Natalie on Nov 7, 2017 17:31:54 GMT -6
my daughter has been asking for me to make French toast. |
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Post by nana on Nov 8, 2017 10:14:47 GMT -6
Repairman was here this morning and installed the new motherboard and the fridge is cooling, he said it is fixed, Woohoo.
He is also checking on a board for the bottom oven too! That went out about 6 months ago and with my height the top oven is difficult to put things in and out of it.
We already put a new heating coil in the dishwasher too this year.
What a mess. We redid the kitchen in 2010, appliances do not last like they use too.
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Post by nana on Nov 8, 2017 10:23:03 GMT -6
my daughter has been asking for me to make French toast. French toast is a good way to start children cooking, they get to "play" in the mixture when dipping the bread and a good way to use bread up, bread pudding is another recipe to use bread up too.
BTW, Log Cabin makes a syrup that has NO High Fructose Corn Syrup in it.
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Post by nana on Nov 8, 2017 14:45:24 GMT -6
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Post by nana on Nov 8, 2017 15:03:51 GMT -6
Cake decorating for beginners and intermediaries
Rose Cake!
Giant Buttercream Rose Wedding Cake Topper- Cake Decorating
Decorating a Cake in Buttercream |
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Post by nana on Nov 11, 2017 10:39:23 GMT -6
I love au gratin potatoes, nana! And that reminds me that I mentioned in the Shoutbox yesterday that I would post my cast-iron biscuit recipe...
This recipe came with a cast-iron biscuit pan that was given to me many years ago as a birthday gift. I've never tried to make it in any other pan, so I can't vouch for how they would turn out if anyone experiments with other pans.
Another thing to note is that I don't preheat the oven, but only set the temperature once the pan is in the oven.
These are soooooo good topped with butter and jam, but could be equally good topped with gravy!
Cast-Iron Buttermilk Biscuits
2 c. flour
1 T. baking powder
1/4 t. baking soda
2 t. sugar
1/2 t. cream of tartar
1/4 t. salt
1/2 c. butter
1 1/4 c. buttermilk
In a medium bowl combine dry ingredients. Cut in butter. Stir in buttermilk until just blended. Drop dough into cast-iron biscuit pan, filling quite full.
Place pan in oven. Set temperature to 450°. When temperature is reached, bake 6 to 7 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Don't overbake or they will become hard.
Made your biscuits yesterday. They were light and fluffy and tender inside, yummy.
I do not have a cast iron biscuit pan so I used a parchment lined cookie sheet and divided the dough into 8 large drop biscuits. I did not brush them with anything. My oven was already hot from making some bacon so I upped it to 450 and waited for it to come to temperature. I set the timer for 9 minutes and checked them with a toothpick, the inside was still not done so I set it for 3 more minutes, still needed a bit of time. Set 2 more minutes. and got a little to brown on some of the bottoms, not burnt but deep brown. So they were in a total of 14 minutes which was just a bit to long for the outside/bottoms and I think the oven tends to be hotter in the back than the front. I should have rotated the pan. I think if oven remain closed the entire baking time maybe 12 minutes total would be the ticket?
I also used the whey from the clotted cream (check another thing off the bucket list). I ended up with 1 3/4 cups of whey. I also froze the butter to grate it into the dry ingredients that I had wisked in a metal bowl and popped in the freeze a few hours ahead of time then grated the frozen butter over the bowl into the cold dry ingredients tossing every few grates and put back into the freezer until time to add the buttermilk whey, mix and bake.
Hubby did not want any clotted cream or lemon curd, he ate his biscuits with butter and dipped them in the egg yolk. He said they were very good. Made easy over eggs and bacon.
Adding: And I hate to admit this but biscuits and pie crust have always been my arch nemesis in baking.
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Post by nana on Nov 12, 2017 16:01:36 GMT -6
Here's one from me!
Potage Saint-Germain
2 c. dry split peas
2 c. water
3 c. beef broth
2 c. chicken broth 1 t. salt
3T. butter
1/2 c. cooked bacon pieces
1 medium onion, minced
2 leeks, sliced
1 bay leaf
Dash of thyme
1 t. sugar
1/2 c. cream
In soup kettle bring water and broths to boil. Stir in all remaining ingredients except cream and thyme. Simmer 1 hour or until peas are soft, stirring occasionally. Stir in cream and thyme. Heat through.
Making this right now, peas are not done yet, just tasted it and haven't added the cream or thyme yet however it is delicious. Going to simmer it a bit longer then finish it up. Making brioche croutons to go with it. |
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Post by nana on Nov 16, 2017 14:37:00 GMT -6
Snowflake Christmas Cookies Buy this cookie cutter www.wilton.com/snowflake-cookie-cutter/2310-592.html and a smaller one too or a couple more. The one with the pointer edges make the prettier cookies. Make this dough www.joyofbaking.com/SugarCookies.html I use 1 1/2 cups of sugar instead of one. You can also substitute almond extract for the vanilla, just remember almond extract is more potent than vanilla so you will want to decrease the amount added to 1 to 1 1/2 t. Make sure to also change the extract in the icing to the same used in your cookies. ***Make SURE you put the UNBAKED cut cookies on the parchment lined cookie sheets in the fridge for 10 minutes BEFORE baking to help keep the shape while baking, this is important.*** Once cooled very well you can Ice them or freeze them between layers of parchment paper in large ziplock bags until you want to ice them. Paintable Icing, this is for a single batch and I usually make about 4 to 5 batches and divide into 3 bowls to color one of them a pale blue, a pale pink and one remains white. This icing dries to a shine, is self leveling for a smooth top and dries much quicker than flooding the cookies with royal icing. If you want to sprinkle with clear or colored sugar you can do it while the icing is wet or add later to the piping design. 1 cup powder sugar 2 t milk 2 t clear light corn syrup 1/4 t vanilla OR almond extract food coloring, paste or liquid In bowl, stir in powdered sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and extract until icing is smooth and glossy. I always have to thin it a bit more with a little corn syrup and milk, I use more milk than syrup to thin it. Add in small amounts until desired consistency. Divide into bowls and color. You can paint the icing on with a food grade paint brush or just spoon it over the cookie while keeping it OVER the icing bowl to allow for the excess icing to drip back into the bowl when you tilt it. Let dry 60 to 90 minutes on parchment lined cookie sheets. Once dry you can decorate or freeze them between layers of parchment paper in large ziplock bags. Royal icing for piping and decorating. www.wilton.com/royal-icing/WLRECIP-50.html#q=royal%2Bicing&start=1You can divide the royal icing to color it. I do a small amount in blue and a small amount in pink and leave the rest white. Put in pastry bags with a #2 or 3 round tip. Place a damp/wet paper towel in the bottom of a glass and put the tips directly on the damp/wet paper towels to keep it from drying in the tips. Make sure to keep remaining royal icing in air tight containers with plastic wrap directly on top of icing before putting lid of container on. Immediately after making your design press in the sugar if desired. I use paper plates to do this on. Then put a dot of royal icing where you want the nonpareil(s) to stick, add the nonpareil and let dry. Freeze the finished cookies between layers of parchment paper in large ziplock bags until you want to make your cookie trays for that day. Go to yahoo and type in snowflake cookies, then click on images and have fun. Look so you know what you like and what to buy: nonpareils, white, pink, blue in 2 sizes different sugars, sparkling clear, pink, blue This dough, icing and royal icing can be used in all sugar cookie designs. A round cookie painted in a light blue with the lower 1/4 dipped into tiny nonpareils or sparkling sugar while wet to make the snow part and just a few to make it look like it is snowing, When dry add wilton mini gingerbread man placed on the snow edge in the center attached with a dab of royal icing. And you have a snow globe cookie. Christmas tree cookies painted with green icing, piped with a royal icing garland and pressed into colored sugar or colored nonpareils and topped with a royal icing star. Have fun, use your imagination, the designs, flavors, shapes and cookies are endless. |
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Post by nana on Nov 16, 2017 15:17:16 GMT -6
And these are good. You can fill them with other fillings too.
Chocolate Cookie Cups with Nutella Cheesecake Frosting Recipe
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