What's Cooking? Wednesday

Welcome to the ninth weekly edition of ....

I'm sorry I didn't do it last week. I just couldn't. Too much sickness, too much holiday, too many kids... too much of a good thing is still too much. But, I'm back this week and raring to go! Kind of.


During my college years I was known as "The Hamburger Helper Queen". That title continued through the early years of my marriage. Thankfully, I learned to experiment with cooking a little more and found some other types of things to cook that were quick, easy, and cheap. Having said all that, we still do have Hamburger Helper on occasion. It's quick, it's easy and it's cheap (especially if I have coupons). Two nights ago I went down to our food storage at the last minute to try to come up with something - anything - to eat that wouldn't make me ill (I'd been suffering from stress-induced "bathroom" issues all day long - I told you last week was bad). I found my stash of Hamburger Helper and remembered I had a pound of browned hamburger (instructions here). Frozen peas completed the meal (you've gotta have a protein, carb and a vegetable for a balanced meal, right?).

So, I guess that the menu "idea" for today is ... There's a time and a place for everything ... even Hamburger Helper!

(Next week I'll share my new favorite cookbook and maybe even have a guest review from my dear friend, Alice!)

(By the way, we made the oreo truffles for New Years. D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S!)

What are you cooking this week? (Please be sure to check the comments section as well as the links.)

What's Cooking? Wednesday

Welcome to the eighth weekly edition of ...

The other day my college roommate, Jen, sent me this email...

"Okay, seriously... if you make these... you'll be best friends with whoever you give them to (so be careful in case you don't want to be best friends with someone). They are DIVINE. I promise. I've had them before - but my neighbor gave us some last night and it reminded me how gooooood they are! And check out the recipe... super easy to make! Only three ingredients! :)

Enjoy!

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/easy-oreo-truffles-95085.aspx "

I clicked on the link and waa-laa. They look sooooo good! They look so good and easy that I'm debating ... do I take them to the Christmas Eve party on Friday night ... or the New Year's Eve party next Friday night ... both parties ... or just make them all in the middle of the night (so no one in the house will know) and eat them all myself??? That is the question. Either way, this is the recipe that I took off of http://sarahkoller.com/?p=1345. Her instructions are a little more idiot proof than the recipe on kraftrecipes.com.
Oreo Truffles

Makes approximately 4 dozen truffles (or maybe a little less, depending on how much of the filling you choose to sample)

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

1 pkg. (1 lb. 2 oz.) Oreos (You can also use a generic version to save a little cash; I've tried a few varieties, and they work just as well.)

2 pkg. (8 squares each) Baker's Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted (You will most likely use closer to 1 1/2 packages. That's more chocolate for spatula-licking, right?)

1. Set aside 5 Oreos and throw the rest in a food processor until they are finely crumbled

2. Thorougly mix cookie crumbs with cream cheese.

3. Form crumb-and-cream-cheese mixture into balls, approximately 1-inch across each (but don't worry too much about being exact here. They will come out delicious no matter the size!) and place onto a cookie sheet that has previously been lined with wax paper.

4. For best results, pop the formed mixture into the fridge for at least 15 minutes to chill while you complete the next step. If you really don't have the time, the truffles will still taste delicious (so don't worry!), but they will be more difficult to handle and some of the coating with mix with the filling.

5. Melt the chocolate. There are many ways to do this. I don't have a double boiler, so I just throw my chocolate into a saucepan and heat it on low, stirring frequently, until it is completely melted.

6. Remove pot from heat.

7. Coat previously formed balls with chocolate and return to the lined cookie sheet.

8. Throw the remaining 5 cookies into the food processor.

9. Sprinkle some of those crumbs on top of the (still wet) truffles.

10. Refrigerate for one hour.

You are done! You are now free to package, freeze, and eat. (Of course, you were free to eat during the entire process.)

Variation: swap out regular Oreos for Golden Oreos (semi-sweet chocolate for white chocolate, if you like white chocolate). You will end up with a cheesecake-like truffle.

Adapted from Kraftfoods.com (It's true!)

What are you cooking this week? (Please be sure to check the comments section as well as the links.)

What's Cooking? Wednesday

Welcome to the seventh weekly edition of ... Except that it's Thursday. Sorry. Life got completely out of control and I didn't get this done yesterday.

If you are having ham for Christmas dinner, you might want to try Ham Sauce. It's original name is Raisin Sauce, but no one in the family except me likes raisins so I don't always put them in and I call it Ham Sauce instead.
Raisin Sauce
1/3 cup raisins (optional :P)
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup jelly (any flavor, but I usually use grape)
1/2 cup orange juice
2 Tbs brown sugar
1 Tbs corn starch
Dash of allspice
Dash of salt

Mix raisins, water, jelly and orange juice in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Mix brown sugar, corn starch, allspice and salt in a small bowl. Pour into sauce while stirring constantly. Serve with ham. Enjoy!

What are you cooking this week? (Please be sure to check the comments section as well as the links.)

What's Cooking? Wednesday

Welcome to the sixth weekly edition of ...
Thoughts are at Christmas, this time of year. Most of my thoughts center around purchasing and wrapping gifts, but I am also starting to think about Christmas Dinner. If you are a Christmas Turkey kind of family, you will enjoy this recipe - Turkey Brine. It originated from Emeril Lagasse's television show. We changed his recipe because it called for beer. Here is our recipe....

Turkey Brine

3/4 gallon of water
2 cups apple juice (replaces the beer)
1 1/2 cup orange juice, the stronger the better
1 cup kosher salt (use kosher salt because the granules are bigger)
1 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup chopped fresh ginger (I just guess when I buy the ginger so I add it all)
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
4 fresh bay leaves
4 sprigs fresh thyme (dry works fine, too)

Combine all the ingredients in a container. We use a well scrubbed cooler. Stir to combine completely and to dissolve the sugar and salt. Put in your bird and let it soak for 12 to 24 hours. In some places you can just put it out in the garage because it is cold enough to keep the turkey. In warmed climates you may need to find room in the refrigerator.

What are you cooking this week? (Please be sure to check the comments section as well as the links.)

What's Cooking? Wednesday

Welcome to the fifth weekly edition of....

I almost forgot to post today. We're having scream-yourself-to-sleep week at our house so we're all a little sleep deprived and ditzy - at least I am.

Do you still have leftover turkey? Here's a great recipe that can help you use it up! The recipe actually calls for chicken but you can substitute that leftover turkey that is in your freezer.


Easy Chicken Tetrazine

Medium onion, chopped
2-3 celery stocks, diced
1 pound spaghetti
2 cans cream of chicken
3 cups chicken broth

Brown medium onion and celery in a stock pot. Add spaghetti, broken in half, with 2 cans of cream of chicken and 3 cups chicken broth. Bring to boil and then add chicken pieces and allow to simmer until the broth is absorbed into the noodles. VERY EASY AND QUICK!

(I've made a few changes to make this fit my family - no celery and a little dry minced onion. Large skillet instead of a stock pot, and pasta works just as well as spaghetti without clumping together. If I need to make more then I just add another can of cream of chicken soup and a little more chicken broth. My kids love it!)


What are you cooking this week? (Please be sure to check the comments section as well as the links.)

What's Cooking? Wednesday

Welcome to the fourth, weekly edition of

Thanksgiving is tomorrow and no doubt you are cooking up a storm for your Thanksgiving Dinner that will probably happen some time between noon and 6 P.M. If your house is like mine, though, the kids will be hungry long before the turkey (or ham, in our case) comes out of the oven. With permission of my sweet cousin, Sally, here is a recipe for delicious muffins. Sally calls them LOVE MUFFINS. The best part, they are quick, easy, and I can almost guarantee that you have all the ingredients in your cupboards already. Make them tonight and they will still be perfect in the morning. In fact, I double or triple the recipe, put three or four muffins in each ziploc bag and throw them in the freezer for my husband to grab as he's walking out the door in the mornings.

(I'm not a baker or a photographer so this picture does not do these LOVE MUFFINS justice!)

LOVE MUFFINS
3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 Tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
2/3 cup melted butter or margarine
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar

Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt. In a small bowl, mix beaten eggs, milk and melted butter. Stir into dry ingredients, JUST until moistened. Pour into greased muffin tins or use liners. Bake at 350* for 20-25 minutes. While warm, rub a stick of butter or margarine on top of muffins and dip in cinnamon/sugar mixture. (We have a shaker for cinnamon/sugar because we put it on toast all the time. I've found that it's easier for me to shake the cinnamon/sugar than to dip a muffin in a bowl.)

What are you cooking this week? (Please be sure to check the comments section as well as the links.)

What's Cooking? Wednesday

Welcome to the third, weekly edition of

Thanksgiving is next week! Holy Cow!!! I know that you are all getting you menus ready for the big day. One of my favorite Thanksgiving foods is pumpkin pie. I love it but don't really like to make a crust. My cousin, Tammy, sent me this recipe for pumpkin pie cake and it has been a staple at our house ever since! You'll notice that the crumb topping has picked off most of the cake in the picture ... that's because the kids love it so much. They kept sneaking pieces until most of the topping was gone.

Pumpkin Pie Cake

Crust:
1 package white or yellow cake mix (set aside 1 cup for topping)
1/2 cup margarine or butter
1 egg (optional)

Mix ingredients together. Pat into a 9x13 pan. Real butter will make the crust very flaky. Add the egg for a cake-like crust.

Filling:
1 large can pumpkin
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp ginger
(or 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice to replace cloves and ginger)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 to 1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2/3 cup evaporated milk

Mix ingredients together. Spread over crust.

Topping:
1 cup cake mix
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine (softened, not melted)

Mix until crumbly and sprinkle over cake.

Bake at 350* for 45-50 minutes or until knife comes out clean. Serve with whipped cream.


What are you cooking this week? (Please be sure to check the comments section as well as the links.)

What's Cooking? Wednesday

Welcome to the second, weekly edition of....

My kids love this recipe. The original name is Barbecue Meatballs but I've changed the recipe just a bit and we call it just "Meatballs and Rice". (And yes, it's pictured on a paper plate because some days I don't want to do dishes. And... It's a full meal with only three things - protein, carbohydrate and vegetable. Most days I'm lazy like that.)

Barbecue Meatballs

36 meatballs (either frozen or from your favorite meatball recipe)
1 cup barbecue sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
2 Tbs brown sugar
cornstarch

Put meatballs, barbecue sauce, ketchup and brown sugar in a saucepan. Heat to boiling. Sprinkle in cornstarch while stirring until sauce thickens. Serve over rice.

(In place of the barbecue sauce, I use Yoshida's Marinade from Sam's Club. My kids love it more than with the barbecue sauce, although they love the barbecue sauce variety, too. It's just a little more sweet with Yoshida's.)

What is your "quick, easy and cheap" (and yummy) recipe this week?

What's Cooking? Wednesdays

Welcome to the 1st weekly edition of...

I say that I really don't like to cook but that's only partly true. I don't like to decide what to fix and I don't usually like putting it together (although that's the best part) and I REALLY don't like the clean up afterwards. Because of this I have focused my cooking efforts on easy recipes. I've even compiled my own cookbook entitled If You Are What You Eat, I'm Quick, Easy and Cheap!"

Please post your favorite recipe. Ideally it should be a recipe that fits into two of the categories - quick, easy or cheap. However, if it especially yummy, please post!!!

Chicken Poppyseed Casserole

2 tubes smashed Ritz-type crackers
1/2 cup melted butter
1 lb cooked, shredded chicken
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
2 Tbs poppyseeds

In a bowl, combine crackers and melted butter. Set aside. In another bowl, mix chicken, soups, sour cream and poppyseeds. In a 9x13 pan, layer half the cracker mixture, all of the chicken mixture and the other half of the cracker mixture. Bake, uncovered, at 350* for 30 minutes or until sides bubble. You can also cover in plastic wrap and microwave for about 10 minutes. Serve over rice.


Please share your favorite recipe.