FUN FAMILY ACTIVITY

Well, probably I was the only one who enjoyed it.  We were invited by the NIELSEN FAMILY to spend a week with them.  This is the 3rd time (in 25 years) that we have been invited, and apparently it is very rare to be asked more than once.  (Probably I was the only one who really enjoyed it, but the other 3 people living here did a great job recording everything and every bit of their tv viewing.)

There have been a few things that I have watched on TV lately that I have enjoyed.

A few months ago we had a "free preview" of Showtime.  One of the movies I dvr-ed was "ONDINE"  I really enjoyed it.  I loved the music and the scenery of Ireland (and the accents), but what really got my attention was that I watched it knowing nothing about it-and had no clue where it would go.
I have tried to delete it, but have not.  (I got the idea of watching it again with my husband, but it is not his kind of movie.  (Actually, I don't think he likes movies.)  So I asked if he would watch about 10 minutes with me every few nights.  He is usually tired and about to go to sleep, so it is working :)
I think I may buy the DVD.

I am (finally) watching Season 2 of DOWNTON ABBEY (PBS).  I loved Season 1, and could hardly wait for the next season.  It does not work to watch it on Sunday, and I hate waiting for the new episodes, so I DVR-ed the new season and saved it until I was not so busy.  (I am TRYING to watch them slowly but...)  I really  really like DOWNTON ABBEY.

Probably my favourite TV show is "BONES"   I enjoy the relationships and humour and quirky characters. And I like procedural shows.   (Although regular LAW & ORDER is my go to when I am stressed/overwhelmed/tired.)

BONES did a spin off called "THE FINDER"  I was not expecting much, but gave it a try and have really liked it (more quirky characters :).

What do you watch?  Something you never miss?

A "CRUMBY" DESSERT

"People first.  Then money, THEN things."  Suzi Orman
20 March, 2012

I got this dessert recipe in November, 1982.  (It was brought over when I had my third child.)  I made it for about 12 years... and then stopped.  I kept the recipe, and moved it from recipe system to recipe system.  But I never made it.  That is because it calls for 2 raw eggs.  My kidults and a few friends requested it but...
After another request I decided to adapt it, and it worked great!

SUBSTITUTE FOR 2 RAW EGGS
(I found several, but this was cheap and easy)

In a bowl put
4 egg whites
Sprinkle over the top with
2 table. non fat dry milk

Beat with a fork until very mixed.
Stir in a drop of
yellow food colouring
Makes about 1/2 cup.  1/2 cup equals 2 eggs.

DONE!

A CRUMBY PEACH DESSERT  (Yep, there IS a story behind the recipe name)

1 lb. vanilla sandwich cookies - finely crushed
2 table. melted butter

substitute mix to equal 2 eggs (1/2 cup)
1 cube softened butter
2 cups powdered sugar

1 cup whipped cream - unsweetened

30 oz. can of peach slices (or more) OR fresh peach slices (or even berries)

Mix melted butter into cookie crumbs with a fork.  (This is not a lot of butter so just fork mix it.)
Press a bit more than 1/2 the cookie crumbs into (about) a 9x9 dish.

Mix 1/2 cup egg substitute mix, powdered sugar and softened butter til smooth.
Carefully spread over cookie crust.
Top with lots of peach slices (Cover the cream layer, and then cover it again.  There is not enough fruit in the picture below.)  I usually use canned (or berries) because they work better.

Spread the unsweetened whipped cream over the fruit.
Top with the rest of your cookie crumbs (and press down lightly).
Chill at least 4 hours.  (I like it the day it is made.  Some people like it better the next day.)

I have a great peach chicken (and stuffing balls)  that goes well with this dessert.
Let me know what you think if you try this.

                                               

CORN BREAD

I love corn bread, which can be a bad thing.  I keep finding cornbread recipes to try.  I tried 2 new ones this week... and made my old favourite for company on Sunday :) 
I have had several requests for my recipe, so am sharing it.

MY FAVOURITE CORN BREAD
makes a 9x13 pan

1 yellow cake mix (make according to package directions)

2 cups cornmeal
1-2 tea. salt
2 table. baking powder
1/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup melted butter or margarine (cooled)
2 eggs
2 cups milk

(Make cake mix as directed.)
Mix dry ingredients and set aside. (cornmeal, salt, soda, powder, sugar)
Mix melted (cooled) butter with eggs and milk. 
Fold butter mix into prepared cake mix. 
Carefully fold in dry ingredients.

Bake in a sprayed 9x13 pan at
375* for 20-25 mins. THEN LOWER HEAT AND COOK AT
350* for 5-10 mins.

My favourite cornbread with
sweet honey butter :)

I tried 2 other cornbread recipes this week.  One had great flavour and moistness, but was quite crumbly.
The other one called for brown butter and sour cream.  (I had high hopes for this one as I LOVE browned butter.)  There was no hint of browned butter and it was d r y.  BUT, it was baked in a preheated cast iron skillet.  I will do that again with my basic (read "tried and true") cornbread. 

Basic (traditional) Cornbread
from Susan Kennard (about 1983)

Mix until just barely mixed
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tea. baking soda
1 tea. salt
1 egg
1/4 cup oil
1 cup milk

Pour into a sprayed 9"x9" pan (about) and bake at 425* for 20-25 mins.
           OR
Rub about 1/2-1 teas. vegetable oil in your cast iron skillet (about 7-8 in.).  Pre-heat skillet as you make cornbread.  Pour cornbread into hot skillet and bake at 425* for 18-25 mins.
Cool completely and cut into wedges.

One of my goals for March?  TRY NO NEW CORNBREADS!  (And enjoy the ones I have.)

EASY WEEK END DINNER

On weekends I like to make fast and easy dinners.

Monte Cristo sandwiches are a favourite of ours (Blue Bayou - mmmm) so I put them on my menu for Friday.  The ingredients are simple.

An eggy bread is traditional (I bought "Great Grains Bakery SWEET HAWAIIAN bread at Winco.  It is under $1.50, easy to find and works great.)
eggs (I used 4)
milk (about cup)
2 table. biscuit mix
thinly sliced ham (lunch meat type)
thinly sliced turkey (")
sliced swiss cheese
melted butter

I made the basic sandwich earlier in the day.  (Layer slice of bread, slice of cheese, ham, slice of cheese, turkey, slice of cheese, bread.)  I flatten them just a bit and wrap up to use later.  (I got that idea from IKEA.) 

I cooked my Monti Cristo sandwiches on my Hamilton Beach (George Forman style) grill that is really my panini press.  (I love it.  A LOT)  I like this particular grill for several reasons. 
1. It is level (does not slant down).
2. REMOVABLE GRILL PLATES (Very easy to clean)
3. Reasonably small for storage.
4 Easy to find at thrift stores.

I set the timer for the grill to heat (5 mins.) and mix the eggs and milk.
I whisk in the biscuit mix and melt the butter in the microwave.
Using a silicone brush to almost generously brush both grill plates.
I quick dip the sandwich in the batter (both sides), put it on the grill and close it.
(It takes about 3-5 mins. per sandwich.)

I serve them with powdered sugar and jam on the side.  This weekend I served  Lingonberry jam that I picked up at Ikea this week. 
Closer that DISNEYLAND and cheaper than BLUE BAYOU.  (Missed the experience and the fireflies, though.)
(For a "closer to Disneyland", but less healthy and more time consuming, I use this recipe.)

(I don't know how to turn the pic.  Sorry.)

ST. PATRICK'S DAY IDEA

Last night as I was trying to fall asleep I had an idea.  It was too early for me to have fallen asleep (2:00 a.m.), but too late for me to try it (2:00).  So I made waffles for lunch.

(Obviously) I used my heart waffle iron to make a 4 leaf clover.  I used a box waffle mix, so it was an easy experiment.  I mixed my green food colouring and oil into the water I was adding so that the colour would mix evenly.  And so that I can mix it less.  Now I just need to come up with some plating ideas before the middle of March. (My sister's birthday is on March 17th.  What a fun breakfast :)

I have a few questions and recipe requests that I need to post.
Melissa asked how much liquid soap I put into my foaming Bath and Body Works bottle.  I put in about an inch of liquid soap.  Here is a trick.  Put the water in first so it won't foam before it is full of water.  I have had 66% success rate.  (One of my bottles only worked 1 time.  Two other bottles have worked a couple of times so far.)  Good Luck.

Next week I will post a requested corn bread recipe and a peach dessert recipe that I have had for 27 years.
(Monday update- No clue why this did not appear on my blog after I posted it.  Sorry.)

In other news at my house, we are a NIELSEN FAMILY!  It's a fun week for me, fan of tv that I am.

Trying New Recipes

I have tried about 15 new recipes in the last 3 weeks.  Only 1 was a keeper.  I have an idea about why so many were not keepers.  And I came up with a new criteria for trying a recipe.  QUIT TRYING RECIPES THAT I ALREADY HAVE A GREAT ONE OF!  (Seems obvious, huh?) 

Some of my failures were chocolate cake and frosting (Remember my crazy cake? mmm),  corn bread (I have a great sweet one and a great corn bready one.), Lemon cream cheese bars (Been there, have that)...

It's a new month and there are lots of new recipes to try.

Crock Pot Cooking...

We have had some really busy weeks.  Some things were planned.  Some were not.

With everything so busy, and a cold/sinus thing that has lingered over a month , I have been reading.  The "series" of books are clean and low key, with characters I like-more or less.  (They are murder mysteries, but are so easy going that I could put 1 down for a week with someone hiding under the bed when the owner comes in.) 
They are a series (Each book tells the complete story.  They are not a continuing story that that make you crazy waiting for the author to write/release the next one so you know what happens.) of culinary mysteries.  So far there are six with food (dessert) titles.  Josi S. Kilpack uses food and recipes as part of her character's personality in LEMON TART, DEVIL'S FOOD CAKE (my favourite so far), ENGLISH TRIFLE...

This week I unexpectedly hosted book club at my house due to illness somewhere else.  I decided to try recipes for lunch from the books I've been reading.  I tried 4.  (Pretty brave to serve untried recipes, huh?)  Two were o.k./fine.  One was definitely not a keeper.  One was a hit and will be made many times.

(SUBJECT CHANGE)  I love crock pot cooking.  I usually crock pot at least twice a week.  I crock pot on Cub Scout day and Sunday (sometimes 2 recipes on Sunday).   I try lots of new recipes (not just crock pot), and have had a lot of crock pot failures the last 3 weeks.  (Back to the recipe.)

For book club I made Southern BBQ Slow Cooked Chicken from KEY LIME PIE by Josi S. Kilpack.       It is shredded chicken that is Carolina style BBQ.  (My husband prefers the more tomato based style of Memphis style BBQ, so he was thumbs down.  He was the only one.

Book Club liked it.  I loved it.  My son came by and said "Primo" (while touching his fingers to his lips).  He later called to see if I would pack some for him to pick up for lunch the next day.
My daughter in law (from South Carolina) tasted it, loved it, and came back with my son and grandson for dinner :)
It was easy, cheap and I had everything for the recipe.
YEA!  Another crock pot recipe.

SOUTHERN BBQ SLOW COOKED CHICKEN - shredded, Carolina Style
from Josi S. Kilpack in KEY LIME PIE (p.112)
I think this would also for pork or ribs :)

1 36 oz. bottle ketchup
6 table. brown sugar
2 table. Worcestershire sauce
2 table. soy sauce
2 table. cider vinegar
1-2 tea. crushed red pepper flakes
1 tea. garlic powder OR 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
6 boneless/skinless chicken breasts  (I used 5 lbs. and it was great.)

Put all ingredients in sprayed crock pot and stir to coat.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours OR  high for 3-4 hours  (I did part high and part low.)
Serve over rice or on rolls.  (I did both.)
I simmered mine on low for an extra hour to reduce the sauce.
Serves plenty.

I saw the idea on Pinterest for shredding your crock pot meats in your stand mixer.  It seems like a good idea.
Then I realized that I would need to transfer the hot meat/liquid to the mixer, hope I did not get splashed, transfer it back. and then wash extra dishes.  I decided to use the usual 2 fork method.
Then I had the idea of trying my pastry blender.  (I like the sharp edges of my Pampered Chef one.).  It worked really well.   Then when I washed the crock pot, I saw scratches on the bottom of my crock pot.  Were they already there?  Who knows. ( Guess that will be one of the things that I will be "Pinbusting" (Hilary's word) next month?)
Don't try this if you are using a crock pot liner.

I think this will be a great summer recipe.  Let me know what you think if you try this.