Pumpkin Pie

So I haven't been cooking too much lately. With the baby penguin taking up time and my oldest penguin looking at every thing I've made (or even just the ingredients) and yelling "Yucky!" I have had little inclination to cook. But it's Thanksgiving time and my favorite pie recipe was needing to be shared. That and my mom can't find her copy of this recipe and called me to email it to her, so I had to type it up anyway.


4 eggs slightly beaten
1 29 oz of pumpkin
1 1/2 c sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cloves
1 c heavy whipping cream
1/2 c light whipping cream
1 1/2 c sour cream


Whip creams together until slightly thickened. In another bowl combine eggs, pumpkin, sugar and spices. Mix in cream mixture. Pour into unbaked pie crust and cook at 425 for 15 minutes. Then reduce heat to 350 and cook for 40-50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on rack. Make two pies-one large and one small.


You can use any crust recipe for this pie. I have a good one I'll try to post later. I hear a penguin crying, so I must run.

Chicken Florentine

Another recipe from my mother. She loves this one, because you can actually make the whole thing in the microwave with leftover chicken. I love to buy a rotisserie chicken from Costco and then use the leftovers to make this.


1 package frozen spinach
2 tbl chopped onion
1 c chopped cooked chicken
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 c shredded cheddar cheese
1 tbl vinegar
1 cup chicken broth
1-2 tbl butter
1/4 - 1/2 c bread crumbs



Cook onions in a small amount of oil. Mix in spinach and chicken. Remove 1 tablespoon broth and replace with 1 tablespoon vinegar (this is a wine substitute: you could also use wine, but I don't) Mix soup, cheese and 2-3 tbl of chicken broth mixture. If you are using the microwave, heat this until cheese is melted. Stir sauce into chicken mixture. Melt butter and mix in bread crumbs. Cook in microwave about 2 minutes stirring occasionally. Top chicken/sauce mixture with bread crumbs. Heat in microwave until hot through. Or cook at 350 until bubbly.


I usually use the oven, just because I am not a fan of food cooked in the microwave. But it still tastes fine when my mother makes it in the microwave. And it's faster. And although my friends I made it for loved it, my little penguins refused to eat it,

Meatloaf

I always loved when my mother made meatloaf when I was growing up, mostly likely because she covered the top in cheese. And I have always loved baked cheese. I think my mother wasn't a fan of traditional meatloaf, so she added several things to lighten it up. She would also sometimes hard boil eggs and place them in the middle of it. I, of course, am never this on top of things and always forget to boil the eggs. However, this week I had some extra turkey lying around (or taking up space in my freezer) and I thought it would be an easy meal to make. I haven't been cooking much lately. The baby penguin doesn't nap much during the day and by the end of a day of refereeing the two older ones and walking while patting the baby, I just don't have much energy or enough hands to cook. So meatloaf it was.



1 1/2 lb ground beef or ground turkey
1 egg
1 scant cup oatmeal
1 small can tomato sauce
1 tbl Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 c grated cheese

Beat egg in medium bowl. Add ground meat, oatmeal, Worcestershire sauce, spices, 1/2 c grated cheese and tomato sauce minus 2 tbl and combine. Place in loaf pan and top with reserved tomato sauce and cheese. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.


I loved it. My husband loved it. The older penguin took one look at it and said, "Nasty!" But don't take that opinion for too much; every thing I've made in the last three weeks has elicited that comment or "gross-y." It's amazing he's still alive with how little he eats at dinner.

Quinoa with Vegetables

In a quest to eat healthier (at least on occasion), I attended a class on nutrition about a year ago. One of the food items meantioned was quinoa. It's a grain from South America that contains all the amino acids that our bodies need (or a complete protien, if you'd like to think of it like that). I bought some after the class and started feeding it to my family. We all liked it and have continued to eat it. In fact, when a friend brought us dinner a couple of weeks ago that had couscous as one of the items and my son insisted that it was quinoa.



1-2 cloves garlic
2 green onions
1 zucchini
1 large carrot
6 oz mushrooms
1 bell pepper
1 can Italian stewed tomatoes
1 c chicken broth
2 c quinoa


Chop all vegetables into bite sized pieces. Saute in 1 tbl oil for about five minutes. Then add garlic and saute for another two minutes. Add tomatoes with juice and broth. Bring to a boil then add quinoa, stir and cover. Cooked covered for 15 minutes or until quinoa is done.


We eat this as a main dish as you don't need any other protein to supplement it and the dish is full of vegetables. You could also serve it as a side dish.

Crescent Rolls

I love bread. Really, really love bread. I wish I could make bread, but I've never managed to make it turn out in an edible fashion. I can make rolls though. I got this recipe from a college roommate, Christina. It's the best roll recipe I've ever had. I've even managed to convert some of my husband's family who grew up on different rolls.



3 c warm water
3 tbl yeast
1 c sugar
2/3 c powdered sugar
1 c softened butter
1 tl salt
6 eggs
10-11 c flour

Mix one cup water with yeast and set aside. Mix sugars, butter and 2 cups hot water. Add to this salt, eggs and yeast water. Mix in flour to make a soft, not sticky dough. Cover and let rise 40 minutes. Pull off pieces about the size of two fists and roll out into circles and cut into wedges. Roll large end of wedge towards point. Place on baking sheet and let rise, covered, for additional 45 minutes. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes. Makes around eight dozen rolls.


This recipe makes about a million rolls. I actually can't even fit the whole thing in my mixer, so I usually half the recipe. Here's the half for easier baking:

1 1/2 c warm water
1 1/2 tsp yeast
1/2 c sugar
1/3 c powdered sugar
1/2 c softened butter
1 1/2 tbl salt
3 eggs
5-5 1/2 c flour



This dough can be very sticky, so it does sometimes need a little extra flour.

Pumpkin Muffins

As the baby is actually sleeping and the other two penguins are outside not killing each other, I can actually do something I want to do. I think time for that may be in very, very short supply for the next year or so, until the newest little penguin starts to sleep for more than an hour or two at a time.

But anyway, while I was in labor with penguin number three, the other little ones and I made these muffins. And then they ate them all in the next three days and we've had to make them again. And those are almost gone now. And so I think we will be making them again soon. They are very fond of muffins, I've learned. Too bad they wouldn't eat the egg muffins I tried a few months ago. Oh well. I got this recipe, or at least the original incarnation of it, not long after I got married from my friend Vickie. The recipe was supposed to be for bread, but I like muffins better. And so do my children. Somehow they feel like they are getting more or a bigger treat when it comes in it's own wrapper!



3 1/3 c flour (I used half white half wheat)
3 c white sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tbl cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 c oil
4 eggs
2/3 c water
2 c canned pumpkin (or a 15 oz can)
1 - 1 1/2 c chocolate chips


In a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs then add water, pumpkin and oil. Mix in dry ingredients. Place about 1/4 c batter into lined or greased muffin cups. Bake at 350 f0r 18 minutes. Makes about three dozen muffins.


If do want to make bread out of it (I did while in labor because we had to leave before the muffins would have been done), the recipe makes three loaves. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Cool for ten minutes before removing from loaf pans.

Caramel Popcorn Balls

I have been making these for years. My mother used to make them occasionally. Then my brother and I learned to make them and we had them more frequently. I absolutely love them. So my my children. I made last night and they would probably eat them all at once, if I let them. Although, if it came down to it, I might do the same!


1/2 c packed dark brown sugar
1/4 c light corn syrup
1/4 c dark corn syrup
1/4 c butter
1/2 tsp salt
8 c popped popcorn


Heat brown sugar, corn syrups, butter and salt to simmering over medium heat, stirring constantly. Add popcorn and cook, stirring until popcorn is coated. Cool slightly. Form into balls and place on waxed paper.



You can also use light brown sugar or all dark corn syrup depending on the molassas flavor you like in your caramel. I like this way best, although I do add a little more dark corn syrup and less light corn syrup on occasion.

Porcupine Meatballs

A million years ago my dad found out he had high colesteral and my mother started feeding us all a bunch of weird foods. The diet didn't last too long (I guess it wasn't working), but this recipe was one she found somewhere that we all actually liked and asked for again.


Meatballs
1 lb ground turkey
1/2 - 1 package Italian Good Seasons salad dressing mix
1 c cooked rice

Sauce
V8 juice
1/4 - 1/2 c chopped bell pepper
1 tsp garlic salt
pepper


Mix turkey, dressing mix and rice together and form into balls. Place on broiling pan and broil each side of meatballs for five minutes. Place balls into large frying pan. Mix enough sauce to half cover meatballs and simmer until warm. Spoon sauce over meatballs when serving.


You can also freeze these quite nicely after the meatballs have been broiled but not added to the sauce. Then you just need to thaw and make the sauce!

Chicken Stroganoff

There are times I know I am setting myself up for failure when it comes to feeding the little animals that live at my house. This is one of the recipes that I know my son won't eat. So I served him plain noodles and separate chicken thinking he might actually eat some of it. Nope. He had green beans for dinner. And that's it. I was sure he'd at least eat the noodles, but no. And then at his refusal, my daughter decided that it must not be anything worth eating, so she would only eat the corn I served with it. We had two very hungry penguins on our hands the next morning. I wonder why...



1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1-2 c all purpose flour (for coating)
salt
pepper
1 tbl butter
1 can cream of chicken soup*
1 1/4 c half&half
1 (1oz) package onion soup mix
2 tbl chopped fresh parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 c sour cream
egg noodles


Season chicken with salt and pepper then dredge in flour. In a large skillet brown chicken in butter until golden. Combine soup, half&half, onion soup mix, parsley, garlic, mushrooms and nutmeg in medium bowl. Pour mixture over chicken. Reduce heat to low and simmer covered for one hour. Stir in sour cream and heat through but do not boil. Serve over prepared egg noodles.

*If I have time, I substitute the canned soup with:
4 tbl butter
8 oz mushrooms
1 small onion minced
1/4 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 c beef broth

In medium sauce pan melt butter and cook mushrooms and onions for three minutes. Add flour, salt and pepper stirring until well mixed. Add beef broth slowly and cook until thickened.

It tastes way better than canned soup and it adds more mushrooms to the sauce, which I love!

Shrimp Alfredo

One thing that my kids will usually eat is anything that involves noodles. We eat a lot of pasta with marinara sauce because of this. But my mother makes awesome shrimp Alfredo and they like that too. Of course they pick everything except the noodles out. But at least they eat those!


1/2 c butter
2 cloves garlic, minced (you can add more if you like garlic a lot)
1 c cream or milk
1 tbl - 1/8 c flour
3/4 c grated Parmesan cheese (fresh is best)
1 c steamed broccoli, well dried
3/4 c chopped tomatoes, well dried
1 c cooked shrimp, well dried (or cooked chopped chicken)
2 c penne noodles (this is a pre-cooked measurement)


Boil noodles according to instructions. Drain and rinse well. Transfer to oven proof dish and place in 200 degree oven. Melt butter over medium heat in large skillet. Add garlic and saute for a few minutes. Add flour (about a tablespoon for cream or about 1/8 cup for milk) and cook until well incorporated. Add cream or milk and cook until hot. Add cheese stirring until melted. Add broccoli, tomatoes, shrimp and noodles stirring to coat. Serve hot.



I usually use cream because it gives the sauce such a great flavor, but you can use milk to make it lower fat or if it is all you have on hand (like I did last night!). The flour thickens and adds stability to the sauce, so when you use a lower fat base you need to add more flour. If the sauce starts to separate you can add a little more flour and if you add too much flour, just add a bit more of the cream or milk. I love the shrimp in this but I have also made it with chicken (again what was on hand).

Gyoza

My husband lived in Japan for a lot of his life, so he and his family eat a lot of Japanese food (go figure on that one). My son asked for this the other day and I actually made it despite it taking forever to make. Well, it doesn't take forever, unless you have to keep refereeing or you make a million of them.


1 lb ground turkey or pork (I always use turkey, I've never found ground pork here)
7-9 leaves Chinese cabbage minced
3 green onions minced
1-2 cloves garlic minced
1/4 tsp grated ginger (you can use powdered also or leave it out entirely)
1 tbl soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp oil
50 gyoza wrapper
oil for frying


Mix ingredients in a bowl. Place spoonful of mixture into center of each wrapper. Seal by damping half of the wrapper edge, folding over and pressing down. Cook in batches in approximately 2 tbl hot oil until brown on both side. The pour small amount of water into pan, cover and cook until water has boiled off.

Use equal parts vinegar and soy sauce for dipping.


My son then decided that he only wanted to eat the wrappers and told me the filling wasn't so good. Sigh, at least it was a good try.

Puffy Cakes

My mother-in-law calls these German pancakes, but when I learned how to make them (and then lost the recipe) in middle school, we called them puffy cakes. And as when ever I try to look up 'German pancake' on google, I get about ten different varieties, I will call these puffy cakes. Because that's what they do; puff up when baked. I personally feel that these definitely fall under the breakfast category, but we had them for dinner tonight.


6 eggs
1 c flour
1 c milk
1/4 - 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c butter

Preheat oven to 425. Beat eggs then mix in flour, milk and salt until well blended. When oven is hot, put butter in 9x13 glass baking dish and place in oven until butter is melted. Remove dish from oven, pour batter in and replace dish in oven. Bake for 13-18 minutes or until golden brown on edges (they will rise up, hence the name puffy cake). Serve with maple syrup, powdered sugar or cinnamon and sugar.


My children refused to go to the grocery store so I could not buy the necessary ingredients for the fajitas that I wanted (Happy Cinco de Mayo!). Then one of them asked for pancakes when I asked what on earth am I going to make for dinner and I told them they could have puffy cakes instead. My son grumbled (I don't know why, he gets to eat both with syrup), but I made them anyway. What was the difference going to be anyway? It's not like he's eaten anything I've made for dinner in the last week and a half! The two of them ended up eating 2/3 of the pan between them. I couldn't believe it and after every bite was sure it would be their last. So I am feeling much better as a cook tonight. Although, not so great as a mom who feeds her kids healthy dinners!

Chicken Manicotti

This is my mother's recipe and I totally love it. It's even some thing that my picky little penguins will usually eat. I always make my own sauce for it (I'm neurotic like that), but canned sauce works just as well and makes the recipe much easier.


1 c cooked chopped chicken
15 oz ricotta cheese
3/4 c Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 - 3/4 c mozzarella cheese, grated
1/8 c chopped fresh parsley
1 10 oz package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1/2 - 1 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp basil
1/8 - 1/4 tsp pepper
marinara sauce
1 package manicotti shells


Boil manicotti shells according to package's instructions, until al dente. While these are cooking combine all other ingredients (except sauce) in a bowl. Drain shells and rinse with cold water to cool and prevent sticking. Stuff shells with chicken mixture. Place in 9x11 pan, cover with sauce and top with more grated mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until hot through.

You can also use fresh spinach if you wilt it first. To do this you rinse your spinach, put it in a non-stick pan and cook it over medium heat until it looks like thawed frozen spinach. It takes about five minutes (or that's how long it took me tonight), but if you have fresh spinach on hand, or if you like it better anyway, it's not that hard.



I made this tonight thinking my little penguins would both eat it (unlike most of the meals I've made lately), but they both surprised me and refused it. Well, my daughter ate some but only when I fed her and could get my son to actually sit at the table instead of telling me he didn't like it and didn't want to eat it. Instead they both ate strawberries, snow peas and the croutons out of the Caesar salad for dinner.

Chicken Noodle Soup

So my son is crazy. He'll eat cold plain tofu, frozen chicken nuggets, and the fat off the top of his Yo-baby yogurt. But he won't eat things that most kids eat, like potatoes. And for his birthday, when given the option of having any meal he could ever want, he asks for chicken noodle soup. And it wasn't a fluke either; it's what he wanted for his last birthday dinner too. So here is the recipe for his favorite meal.


1 lb chicken breasts
3-4 ribs chopped celery
4-5 chopped carrots
4-6 oz quartered mushrooms
10-12 cups chicken broth (or water with bullion)
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp pepper
1-2 cloves minced garlic
1 small onion minced
egg noodles


Boil chicken in chicken broth. Remove and cut up chicken. Skim any foam off the broth. Add vegetables and spices. Boil until vegetables are almost tender. Add chicken and egg noodles. Cook until noodles are done.


I actually love that he likes this, because it is one of my less labor intensive meals. You can also make this with turkey (like after Thanksgiving).

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

I have two recipes for this dish; one from my mother in law and on from a friend in college. I don't follow either of course, although I do reference them to make sure I don't leave any ingredients out (I totally forget the olives all the time and then am very sad when it comes out of the oven). Here is my own version of the recipe.

2 - 2 1/2 cups cooked chopped chicken
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 pint sour cream
1 sm can diced green chili peppers
1 small can sliced olives
2-3 chopped green onions
4 cups shredded cheese (I use Colby jack or Cheddar)
8 soft taco size tortillas


Combine soup, sour cream, peppers, onions and 2 cups of cheese in bowl. Remove two cups of mixture and add to chicken. Fill tortillas with chicken mixture. Place in 9" by 13" pan. Add olives to remaining soup mixture and spread over filled tortillas. Top with remaining cheese. Bake for 30-40 minutes at 350.

I love these and my husband inhales them. Too bad my son refuses to even taste them. I was sure he'd eat them as he loves olives, but he wouldn't even pick those out! He ate a lot of green beans tonight (our one side dish as I have been refusing to make salad as our fridge is currently in the garage and it's way to hard to haul everything to make a salad into in the house and then back into the garage-hey I'm pregnant so I'm allowed to be a little lazy, right?).

Cottage Pie

Last night we had cottage pie. Cottage pie is from England and uses ground beef filling with a mashed potato topping. It is also often called shepherd's pie. But I've always heard that it's cottage with beef and shepherds with lamb, and since I strongly dislike lamb, cottage pie it is!

Filling

1 tbl oil
1 onion minced
2 carrots diced
1 celery stick diced
1 1/2 lb ground beef
2 tbl flour
1 1/1 c beef broth
1 tbl soy sauce
1 tbl Worcestershire sauce
2 tbl tomato sauce
1 tbl tomato paste
2 bay leaves
2 tsp chopped fresh parsley

Topping

1 1/2 lb potatoes
1 oz butter
1/2 c milk

Cook onion, carrot and celery in oil over medium heat until softened about five minutes. Add ground beef and cook through. Drain fat. Add flour and cook for another two minutes. Add beef broth, tomato sauce and paste, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaves. Simmer over low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove leaves and stir in parsley.
For the topping, peel and thinly slice potatoes then boil until cooked through. Drain and mash with butter and milk.
Heat oven to 350 and lightly grease a two quart casserole dish. Put the filling in and top with potatoes. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.


I think this is a nice warm comfort food and I love it, as does my husband. My children both turned their noses up at it, but then, when they hate potatoes, what should I really have expected! I served it with salad, that being all I had energy to do after making it and cleaning the mud off my children before dinner!

Oatmeal Cookies

I cook a lot. I like to cook. I don't bake so much. Cakes and cookies don't do a lot for me. Bread does, but I stink at making it. Therefore, I don't modify baking recipes. I have a few I like and use and I don't vary from the written recipe at all. Because then it might not turn out. And I would be really irritated that I went to all that time only to mess it up. So, when we moved into our new house and I couldn't find anything (including my white sugar) and I wanted cookies, I got a little desperate. I knew what I had on hand and what I wanted in the cookies (oats and lots of brown sugar) but I couldn't find any recipes online that came even close. At this I had to resort to making up my own recipe. I do have some concept about what certain ingredients in cookies do, so taking this and my general knowledge of the proportions in my other cookie recipes, I came up with these:


1/2 c softened butter
6 oz brown sugar
1 egg + 1 yolk
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 oz wheat flour (preferably wheat pastry flour, it's ground more finely)
3 1/2 oz white flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla
7 oz old fashioned oats
optional chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs. Add dry ingredients and vanilla. Add chocolate chips if desired. Dough will be sticky. Drop by spoonfuls onto parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees, turning sheet halfway through. Transfer to rack and cool.

Highly modified ground beef stroganoff

This started as an, "I don't want to cook dinner tonight" recipe I found. Meaning it was supposed to be a very simple and fast dinner. I couldn't do that though. It's not as complicated as the dinner I had planned to make, but more so than the original!

1/2 lb ground beef
1 cup very mashed beans
2 tsp minced garlic
1 cup sour cream
salt
pepper
1 recipe mushroom sauce (or one can cream of mushroom soup)

Brown beef over medium heat. Drain, rinse and return to pan. Add garlic and cook for a couple minutes. Add mashed beans and cook a few more minutes. Add mushroom sauce, sour cream and salt and pepper to taste. Heat through and serve over egg noodles or rice.



Mushroom sauce (credit: Beatrice Ojakangas) better known as a cream of mushroom soup substitute (use in place of one can)

4 tbl butter
1/2 lb mushrooms (you can use less, I only had about 1/4 lb)
1 small onion diced
1/4 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 c beef broth

Melt butter in medium sauce pan. Add mushrooms and onion and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add flour, salt, and pepper, stirring until mushrooms are coated. As beef broth slowly, stirring constantly to thicken sauce. Cook until desired thickness is achieved.



As this was supposed to be an easy dinner I served it with frozen green beans and corn. In different bowls because each child wanted a different vegetable. Go figure.

Faulty Memory

As I have a crummy memory (and always have), I thought that if I started blogging about my meal plans and recipes, I might actually remember them. And then I will hopefully be able to replicate some of what I have done! So really, this blog is totally for me. As in I don't really care who reads it because it's just recipes and notes on them.

So if you're nuts enough to read my ramblings, have fun!