I Dare You To Eat It Presentation

I have had several friends who were unable to attend Liesa Card's presentation last Thursday ask me for handouts. Here's the thing, she doesn't really do handouts. She feels that they are usually a waste of paper and just get thrown away. Instead she provides everyone in attendance with a half sheet of paper and a pencil so they can write down points that they feel are important (plus she handed out bookmarks with her website address so you can check out some of the recipes that she has up there for free, but I already put the link above). So I thought that I would write down the things that I thought were important here on my blog. Of course what I write here doesn't do justice to her entire presentation, but here we go.

• Using your food storage should consist of 3 things: A one year supply of staples (grains, beans, etc.), a 3 month supply of items that you regularly use in your cooking (sauces, canned vegetables, etc) and fresh ingredients (meat, dairy, produce). Meals that are a mix of these three are far more likely to be eaten by your family.
• Thomas S. Monson has asked us to live in the present. At the moment the present includes the grocery store. The First Presidency has never asked us to stop going to the grocery store.
• Food storage doesn't have to be weird, in fact it's best if it's not. Some examples she gave of food storage meals that her family eats on a regular basis include white bean chicken chili, tuna noodles, sloppy joes, beef borgie and shepherd's pie.
• If you have your ingredients on hand, you can use your food storage to put together meals faster than you can pick up take-out, but they're healthier and cheaper too.
• You can get a year supply of food storage for a family of five for about $1200. Yes, that is not pocket change, but with some planning and some effort it is doable. Find a way to save $100 a month and put that towards food storage. As you use it, it will save you money.
• Food storage can make you a better mother. There is an peace and assurance that come with knowing that whatever the world has to throw at us, at least I have the means to feed my family. "I won't fail them when it comes to food."
• Food storage is not about fear, it is about peace. We have been asked to store food, not in a spirit of fear, but because of the blessings that will come from having it.
• Food storage is almost like a secret blessing from the First Presidency and people don't realize how it can make their lives so much easier.
• If we ever come to a point where we have to use our food storage, we will wish that we had kept the furniture in the garage and food storage in our house.
• If the 'what if' happens, we make adjustments. If a disaster happens we're still having white bean chicken chili. It may or may not have chicken, it probably won't have cheese or sour cream or tortilla chips, but it is close enough to what they are used to that the family will still be comfortable eating it.
• There are three tricks to using your food storage: 

1. Keep 6 open cans of food storage IN YOUR KITCHEN. (wheat, pasta, beans, oats, rice and potatoes)
2. Gather a three month supply of ingredients and keep them in your kitchen. (She uses 30 recipes and buys the shelf ingredients in groups of three. i.e. 3 bottles of spaghetti sauce.)
3. Get a binder and start collecting food storage recipes that your family is actually willing to eat. It doesn't have to be fancy, just a place where you have them together.

 If you want more information I Dare You To Eat It can be found at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Deseret Book. Anyone who reads my blog on a regular basis knows that I mention this book a lot. Liesa does not compensate me in anyway to promote her book. I promote it because it has changed my life, makes my job as a mother so much easier and I believe that it can make the lives of many other families easier too. And if you live near me I do have a few copies that Liesa gave me to sell at a discounted price. I am not getting a cut, I'm just trying to share the good information.

Happy Purchases Today

1. Important service announcement: Costco is once again stocking Dino Nuggets! Is anyone else as excited about this as I am? My family has been missing these in the past few years. They taste so much better than the other kid-geared chicken nugget options out there, and per pound they were less expensive than the other chicken nugget options at Costco (although not by much). I only found it because my son was being uncooperative, ran away and tried to hop into someone else's cart. They happened to have Dino Nuggets in their cart. Dino Nuggets! I was really excited about it and that man looked at me like I was crazy. Oh, well it's not the first time.
2. I have reached that point in my life where my marriage is outlasting the wedding gifts that we received. I suppose this is a good thing, but in the past month my food dehydrator, my toaster, a skillet and my blender have kicked the bucket. I bought one blender/smoothie maker from Amazon. Now normally I am a loyal happy Amazon customer, but this one sucked. It leaked and couldn't even blend frozen fruit. Definitely returning it. (I hate returning things by mail, it's such a pain.) Today I went to Bed Bath and Beyond with the intent of buying the Ninja Blender, but they didn't have it in stock. So I brought home this the Ninja Blender/Chopping System. I used it to make Creamy Tomato Soup this evening. I am really happy with it. It's great when you need to blend multiple things and don't have wash the container immediately because there are three, plus it's super fast. (This is not a infomercial, if you want to know more details about the product you can google it.) I am sharing this because I'm really excited about my new purchase. It's totally going to make cooking easier for me because I use my blender a lot. And after coupon and rebate it was $40.99, compared to $68.90 on Amazon. Hooray!

 

Great blogs I've been reading

Here are some useful blogs that I have discovered recently in my journeys through the blogosphere.

Simple. Healthy. Tasty. Finding ways to get your family to eat healthy foods. I particularly like her recent post on picky eaters. It's one a coworker recommended.

Basket 411 Suggestions and recipes for those less than familiar vegetables that you may find in your Bountiful Basket, plus some great new ideas for the more familiar ones.

Pioneer Woman- Basket 411 references her a few times so I made her BBQ Pineapple Quesadillas. They were delicious.

Momza's House- Momza is a mother of seven and shares some great wisdom she has learned caring for her brood. This month she is having a countdown to Thanksgiving. Everyday she shares something she is grateful for and is hosting a bloghop for holiday recipes. Plus this week she's having a CSN giftcard giveaway!

How To Hair Dos- Step by step instructions for creating princess hair, because I will admit it is not one of my strong points.

The Morris Tribe- Mother of 10 who has lots of great ideas on making things work without losing your sanity.
Women In The Scriptures I love this blog. She discusses in detail women throughout the scriptures and points out many great insights about motherhood.

Food Storage Friday: Hawaiian Haystacks

Food storage can make your life easier. One way to start out is to pick a recipe that your family enjoys that incorporates food storage and buy enough ingredients to make that meal 3 times. Once you have 30 recipes, multiplied by three, you will have a 3 month supply of food. Keep these ingredients where you will use them. Case in point: My family loves Hawaiian Haystacks so I purchased all the ingredients to make at least 3 meals worth (It's one of the few meals that everyone is willing to eat, anytime). One Sunday when I was at work my husband decided to make dinner and looked in the pantry. 'Ah-hah! Everything to make Hawaiian Haystacks in plain view.'  I came home to the pleasant surprise of finding not only that dinner was on the table, but that my husband had used food storage to make it. And this works not only for coaxing husbands to cook, but for helping you on those evenings when you're feeling uninspired in the kitchen. If you have a recipe that you're familiar with and you keep the ingredients on hand, you can get dinner on the table quickly without resorting to fast or instant food.

Hawaiian Haystacks

Food storage ingredients minus coconut

Food Storage Ingredients
3 cups of prepared rice
canned pineapple chunks or tidbits, drained
chicken gravy, prepared as directed
slivered almonds
chow mien noodles
shredded coconut
canned mandarin oranges,drained

Fresh Ingredients
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped (canned chicken can be substituted in a pinch)
shredded cheddar
1 green onion, sliced

Optional Ingredients
golden raisins
sliced water chestnuts
shredded carrots
diced bell peppers

1. Prepare ingredients (gravy, chicken, etc.) 2. Assemble as desired.

For me, this is comfort food.

For my family, 2 cups of chicken & 3 cups of rice is sufficient for the four of us and even yields some leftovers. One package each of chow mien noodles, almonds and coconut is more than enough for three meals, but we always use an entire can each of the fruit.

Dutch Oven Peach Cobbler and a Giveaway

Right now we are planning a extended family camping trip. Camping means cooking in a Dutch oven. :) And I thought I would share my favorite super easy dutch oven dessert recipe. I believed I learned this back at girl's camp...awhile ago.

Dutch Oven Peach Cobbler
1 large (20 oz) can of peaches (don't drain)
1  (12 oz) can of Sprite/ 7-Up/ Sierra Mist (just make sure it isn't diet.)
1 box yellow cake mix
1/4 lb butter (1 stick)
1/2 tsp cinnamon

1. Prepare charcoals (10 for the bottom and 14 for the top). 2. Spray inside of dutch oven with non-stick cooking spray. 3. Dump peaches with juice into dutch oven. 4. Sprinkle cake mix over peaches. 5. Cut butter into small chunks and distribute over cake mix. 6. Pour lemon-lime carbonated beverage of choice over cake mix. Don't stir! 7. Sprinkle with cinnamon. 8. Place lid over cake, cover with coals and allow to cook until cake is lightly browned on top and the sides pull away from oven (About 30-35 minutes) Test center with a toothpick. Cold leftovers make a great breakfast, if there are any.

And it's giveaway time! This month's giveaway is another $40 CSN gift certificate that you can use towards anything you please from one of their more than two hundred stores! Here's how to enter: 1. You must follow SecretsofMom and leave a comment telling me how (RSS, blogger, etc). For additional entries you can 2. Share your favorite dutch oven recipe in a comment below. 3. Share a great camping tip that you have. 4. Follow me on twitter. 5. Follow me on Facebook. This giveaway is open until August 31st, 2010. The winner will be announced Sept 1st. The winner will be selected using a random number generator. Only open to residents of the US and Canada. Canadian residents must pay international shipping rates at CSN stores.

Food Storage Friday: Pepper Steak

After reading I Dare You To Eat It: Designing Food Storage You Would Actually Want To Eat by Liesa Card, (who btw is awesome, really she's my hero) I was inspired to make my own book of food storage recipes, which I would share with the internet in a free download form, to encourage anyone who needs ideas on making their food storage work for them. I've started this project almost a year ago, but between work, vacations and just life in general, it hasn't happened yet. The solution: Food Storage Friday. Every Friday I will post a new food storage recipe with a picture and any hints that I found helpful. When I have forty successful recipes, I'll compile them into one document for your easy downloading pleasure.  (Because what good is a food storage recipe if  no one is willing to eat it?) Plus this way you can see pictures for each one.

Food storage is more than just storing grains. You have to know what to do with it. You have to incorporate it into your diet on a fairly regular basis, so if/when you have to use it, it's not a shock to your system. You have to have a repertoire of recipes that you can easily refer to and use often so that you can rotate through it. If you can do these things eating food storage can improve your diet, save you time and dramatically decrease the amount you are spending on groceries.

On a recent trip to the grocery store I noticed that there was an amazing deal on both steaks and bell peppers, which inspired me to make this meal for dinner. The recipe I found and modified said that it serves 4. Is that four Sumo wrestlers? I got more like 8-10 servings out of this recipe and I didn't change it that much.

Pepper Steak Stir-fry and Rice
Food Storage Ingredients
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 (4 oz) can of sliced mushrooms, drained
1 (8 oz) can of sliced water chestnuts, drained (optional)

1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 catchup
1/2 cup water
4 cups of prepared rice (I prefer brown)

Fresh Ingredients
1 lb steak, sliced into 1/4" strips
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 large bell peppers, diced (I used red & yellow)
1 cup green onion, sliced

Combine soy sauce, garlic, and ginger. Add beef. Mix and set aside while preparing vegetables. Heat oil in large frying pan or wok. Add beef and stir-fry over high heat until browned. Turn heat up and add  fresh vegetables. Cook until vegetables are tender crisp, about 10 minutes. Mix cornstarch with water. Add to pan; stir and cook until thickened. Add tomatoes & catchup and heat through.

Because this recipe yields such a large quantity, I froze half of it.

Here we are, frozen & reheated, still good, although the yellow peppers look less appealing.

Here are a few other successful food storage recipes that I have already done:
Fat Free Pumpkin Apple Muffins
BBQ Chicken and Wheat Salad
Beef and Bean Burritos
BBQ Baked Beans
Mac and Cheese with Cauliflower

Book Review: 101 Things To Do With Zucchini

It's late summer in Utah, and that means that you can probably find someone to give you excess zucchini, that is unless you're trying to give it away yourself. And not only is zucchini good for you, there many, many things that you can do with it. 101 Things To Do With Zucchini by Cyndi Duncan and Georgie Patrick gives many enlightening recipes as well as several helpful hints for this versatile vegetable. Another great book to help you make use of what you have.

1. Zucchini can be substituted for many vegetables in your favorite recipes. It works well in soups, salads, sauces and egg dishes. It works especially well in Italian dishes.
2. For most recipes it is not necessary to peel zucchini. The peel is where you get most of your vitamins.
3. Yellow straight neck squash is often referred to as yellow zucchini.
4. Zucchini can be eaten raw or cooked, with or without peel. It can be fried, boiled, baked, steamed, sliced, diced, shredded, stuffed or grilled.
5. Zucchini is about 95% water and low in calories. 1 cup yields 25 calories.
6. Shredded zucchini can be added to soups and sauces without draining, but if using for cakes or breads, the liquid must be squeezed from the pulp.
7. Zucchini is bland in taste and usually takes on the flavor of other ingredients. It is commonly seasoned with oregano, basil, tarragon, garlic or dill.
8. Approximate measurements: 1 pound=3 cups sliced=4 small or 2-3 medium; 1 medium shredded= 1 1/2 cups; 1 large=2 pounds
9. Small to medium zucchini have the best flavor. Overgrown zucchini are best for breads and soups.
10. If zucchini is to be used in 1-2 days, store at room temperature. It can be stored in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Here's my version of one of the recipes I tried. I started making it as a side dish, but it is enough to be a meal in it of itself.

Skillet Tomatoes and Zucchini
2 small zucchini sliced
1 medium onion thinly sliced
1 Tablespoons butter
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp dried basil
dash pepper
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup grated mozzarella
1/8 cup grated parmesean
1 cup seasoned croutons (I used Caesar with good results)

In a large skillet, saute zucchini and onion in butter until tender. Add tomatoes and seasonings. Cover and simmer 3-5 minutes, or until tomatoes are tender. Remove from heat and sprinkle with croutons and cheese. Cover 2-3 minutes, or until the cheese melts. Serves 4

Book Review: 101 Things to Do With Yogurt

101 Things Things to Do With Yogurt by Geneva Stringham is another fun book that I snagged a deal on recently. I honestly had no idea that there were so many things that you could do with yogurt. This book also teaches you how to make your own yogurt, if you're feeling ambitious. I would say this is a new favorite and I will be using it again. Eating yogurt on a regular basis improves your digestive health and helps to prevent illness. It has a fish taco recipe that doesn't involve frying, so I thought I would give it a try. I had family visiting a few weeks ago and served it to them. It was such a big hit that we made it again the next weekend when the other side of the family came to visit. Even some family members who don't like fish, liked these tacos. And they're so easy to make! (Another helpful hint I've discovered that frozen tilapia fillets are normally cheaper at Smith's than at Costco, and right now they're on sale, so it's an even better deal.)

Fish Tacos Baja Style
Sauce:
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup Miracle Whip
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 Tablespoon lime juice
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 Tablespoon fresh chopped cilantro

Tacos:
1 pound mahimahi or tilapia
lime pepper
12 fresh corn tortillas
1 ripe avocado, chopped
lime wedges
grated Mexican blend cheese
fresh salsa (mango-peach works particularly well)

Combine sauce ingredients and refrigerate. Sprinkle each side of fish fillets with lime pepper and grill until thoroughly cooked. Wrap tortillas in a clean dish towel and steam for 30 seconds in the microwave. For each taco spread a teaspoon of yogurt sauce in a tortilla, add several bite-size pieces of grilled fish and remaining taco toppings as desired. Serves 6

I served this with Baked Chile Relleno and Cafe Rio Style Cilantro Lime Rice.

Butter-Free Breakfast Buckle

Recently I saw my friend Lisa make some blueberry buckle with beans instead of butter and I had to give it a try. Except I used strawberries because I prefer them. I found the recipe on Recipezaar, but made a few changes. As I was putting it in the oven the first time I had a great idea that I could use orange juice concentrate in the topping instead of butter. It seemed appropriate for breakfast. My family loved this. I had extended family visiting and they loved it too, and no one could tell that there were beans instead of butter.

Strawberry Buckle

1/4 cup cooked and mashed white beans
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup milk
1 cup oat flour
1/2 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup white flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced

Topping
1/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup oat flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
dash of nutmeg

1. "Cream" beans and sugar. (Just like you would butter.) 2. Mix dry cake ingredients in a separate bowl. 3. Blend egg and vanilla into bean and sugar mixture. 4. Add milk to wet ingredients. 5. Mix dry and wet mixtures together. 6. Gently fold in strawberries. 7. Pour into a greased 9x9 or round cake pan. 8. "Cream" oj concentrate and brown sugar. 9. Mix in remaining topping ingredients. 10. Drizzle topping over cake. (Using the orange juice concentrate, the topping doesn't crumble as well, but it's delicious, cheaper and better for you too.) 11. Bake @ 375 for 50 minutes.

Book Review: 101 Things to Do With Chicken

Recently when I was looking for a gift for my dad I came across several of the "101Things" books at 60% off. I have a few of them and have been pleased thus far, so I bought four more. This weekend I read through all of them and I'm so excited to try several of the recipes. 101 Things to Do With Chicken by Donna Kelly and Stephanie Ashcraft had several recipes that look really great, but there were also some that made me think "You don't really need a recipe for that. There are also a few that are repeats from other books in the series. Having said that I still think that it was worth it. At the beginning of the book is a list of helpful hints which I'll share, plus my version of the recipe that I tried yesterday.

1. Always make sure that chicken is thoroughly cooked. Juices should run clear and there shouldn't be any pink present. Chicken thighs should reach 175 degrees. Chicken and eggs are frequent carriers of salmonella.
2. Chicken stored in the fridge should be used within 1-2 days.
3. A whole chicken takes 36 hours to defrost. Chicken pieces usually take 12-24 hours to defrost.
4. All cut chicken on a non-pourus plastic or glass cutting board. And never cross-contaminate by using the knife you used to cut chicken to cut something else.
5. Bringing chicken to room temperature before cookin will help it to remain moist and cook evenly.
6. Soaking in brine with add moistness and flavor to baked or roasted chicken. Add 1/4 cup salt to 1 quart water. Place chicken and brine in ziplock bag. For a carmelized flavor, also add 1/4 cup sugar to brine. Soak chicken in brine for at least an hour per pound or overnight. Drain before cooking.
7. For crispy skin on roasted or fried chicken,  leave chicken uncovered in the fridge for a few hours before cooking.
8. When roasting or grilling a chicken, allow to set at room temperature for ten minutes before slicing so that the juices can be reabsorbed into the meat.
9. 1 lb bonless skinless chicken yields about 3 cups of cubed or sliced chicken.

Tangy Strawberry Chicken Bites
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken tenders or breasts cut into small chunks
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 cup strawberry preserves
1 cup chili sauce
1 can (20oz) pineapple chunks, drained
2 large carrots, sliced
1 red bell pepper cut into small chunks
3 cups of prepared brown rice

1. Cook chicken in oil over medium heat until browned on all sides. Meanwhile steam carrot slices in microwave with 1/8 cup water for 3 minutes. 2. Drain carrots and add to chicken with preserves, pepper and chili sauce. Cook and stir until preserves are melted. 4. Add pineapple chunks, simmer for one minute and serve over rice.

The Verdict: This recipe was actually in the appetizer section, but I decided to increase the pineapple, add some veggies and serve it over rice to make it a meal. I liked this, my husband loved it, my son who isn't feeling well wouldn't try it and neither would my daughter. I thought perhaps if I served it with toothpicks they might be willing to try it. No such luck. I apologize that there isn't picture, the batteries in my camera died, again. :S

Giveaway: 101 Things To Do With A Slowcooker

 Years ago I attended a class on crockpots given by my neighbor, Janet Eyring. (She's not my neighbor anymore since I have moved.) She is the one who opened my eyes to what an amazing appliance the crockpot is. I heart my crockpot. (The only difference between a crockpot and a slow cooker is that crockpot is a trademarked name of the Rival brand product.) Recently I realized that May's almost over and I haven't done a giveaway yet. Let's fix that. I'm going to giveaway a copy of 101 Things To Do With A Slowcooker by  Stephanie Ashcraft and Janet Eyring. There are three ways to enter: 1 Become a follower of Secrets of Mom and leave a comment (If you are already a follower, just leave a comment saying so.) 2. Follow me on twitter and leave a comment here saying you did so. 3. Share your favorite crockpot recipe.  Giveaway ends May 31st. Best of luck to you!

 Here's a recipe from her book that she taught us in her class. It's so simple and delicious. It can also be found at her website along with a few others.

Easy Apple Crisp

 

2 cans (21 ounces each) apple pie filling
2 1/2 cups granola cereal
1 1/2 teaspoons  cinnamon
1/3 cup sugar 
1/3 cup melted butter

1. Spray the inside of a 3&1/2 or 4 quart crockpot. Dump in pie filling. 2. Put in remaining ingredients in the order listed. 3. Cook on low heat for three hours. 4. Serve with vanilla ice cream.
 *(I made this and then realized I was out of ice cream. And sorry the one pic I took wasn't great. It was late. Personally I like to eat it plain and cold for breakfast.)

Recipe Blog Hop

Today I came across a great idea started by Trying Our Best: a recipe blog hop. Go check out the great recipes that people are sharing by clicking on the link above.  So much happiness and yumminess. Plus there is a giveaway involved.

Strawberry Cablams

A few nights ago there was a neighbourhood dessert potluck/goodbye party for a family that's moving. (Great idea, btw. Simple, low-key and effective.) I made these because I had everything for them and going to the grocery store was not on the agenda for the day. They're fast, easy, soft, and as my neighbour says "the cutest cookies ever". All the little girls loved them. I got this recipe from my sister-in-law.

Strawberry Cablams
1 box Duncan Hines strawberry cake mix*
2 eggs
1/3 cup canola oil
1 cup white chocolate chips**

1. Preheat oven to 350. 2. Mix first three ingredients. 3. Stir in chips. 4. Drop by large spoonful onto greased cookie sheet. 5. Bake for 12 minutes. Makes about 16 large cookies.

*Usually I don't think it makes a difference, but I have discovered that for this recipe the Betty Crocker strawberry cake mix gives lesser results.
**She always uses white chocolate chips. I used swirl chips (or squirrel chips as my daughter calls them) because that's what we had.

Buffalo Chicken Calzones Inspired by Erin's Food Files

I've been following Erin's Food Files for several months now. She makes a lot of things that look delicious, but until last week I hadn't actually made any of her recipes. (Sorry, Erin some of your recipes just seem a little more involved than I generally have time/patience for. Like the Red Velvet Cheesecake. Looks amazing, but not something I'll likely try soon.) I tried four with some successes, and I'm certain that I'll try a few more. I love that she uses whole wheat flour in so many of her recipes.

I saw the Buffalo Chicken Calzones and was certain that it would be a winner. However, I made two major changes. I decreased the hot pepper sauce by more than half and I added vegetables because I thought I could get away with it. As it turns out I was correct. It was still plenty hot and you can't taste the veggies. My husband said "I suspect there are several yummy things in here, but the only thing I can taste is Tabasco." So when I make this again I think I will sneak in even more veggies and decrease the pepper sauce. Also when I was sauteing the chicken I decreased the butter by 2/3rds. It still tasted great. To scope out the original (her pictures are better) and more of Erin's great culinary creations go here.

Buffalo Chicken Calzones

1 lb pizza dough (I used a whole wheat recipe from Skinny Bovine's Kitchen that is very good.)
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced
1/4 cup hot pepper sauce
1 Tablespoon butter
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
1 cup pizza sauce (I have recently found that I love Classico's spicy tomato & basil pasta sauce)
1/3 cup finely chopped baby spinach
2 Tablespoons cauliflower puree

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. 2. Cook chicken in oil and butter until no longer pink. Add pepper sauce and simmer for 10 minutes. 3. Meanwhile, mix pizza sauce and vegetables and roll out pizza dough into two flat circles. 4. When chicken is done assemble calzones. Put half of sauce, cheese and chicken on one side of each dough circle. Fold the other half over and press edges to seal. 5. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until dough is golden brown. This makes two very large calzones. Each serves at least two, and they freeze well.

She served hers with a bleu cheese dip. I was lazy and just used Litehouse Chunky Bleu Cheese dressing. But I'm sure her bleu cheese dip is great.

In the past week I also made her Oatmeal Wheat Bread. It was a big hit. My daughter decided that it should be named "Family Bread". We also made her Homemade Graham Crackers. They were ok, but didn't look anything like hers. She served hers with ice cream. I don't think mine could take that, they're too crumbly. I think they will turn into a crust for strawberry pie. I'm not sure what I did wrong there. I also tried her Beer Bread, but without the beer. I used root beer instead of pumpkin ale. It was ok, not as fantastic as I was hoping, but I will take all the credit for that failure. I've done beer bread with Sprite before, I'll have to try her recipe again that way.

Tropical Sweet Potato Casserole

Ok, here's something strange and random about Heather: When I was six years old I started making a set of cookbooks. I had ambitions of being a famous chef. They are four binders that are falling apart, full notebook pages pasted with various clippings. For the most part I cut recipes off of package labels and out of Better Homes & Gardens magazine. There are also a few family recipes I transcribed in there. (My husband likes to poke fun of my misspellings and the sometimes questionable organization.) Although, I am far from being a famous chef, I still use these cookbooks to this day, often changing things around a bit. (The original version of the pumpkin apple muffin recipe I posted last week is in those books and came off a Libby's canned pumpkin label.) Today's recipe is from those cookbooks, therefore I can't properly give credit to the original source because when I was cutting and pasting that didn't seem important. From the font I'm guessing BH&G.

This sweet potato casserole is lighter than the traditional fair, without butter or marshmallows. Also, I had never made sweet potato casserole before trying this and didn't know what I was getting myself into. It served 6, plus gave me four tupperware containers full of leftovers.  At least it was delicious as well as fairly easy. I froze them so I can just keep having this every few weeks. So the recipe that I'm giving you is half of that. Go ahead and double it if you need to feed a throng.

Tropical Sweet Potato Casserole

2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 Tablespoons orange juice concentrate
2 Tablespoons milk
2 eggs lightly beaten
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup pineapple tidbits
1/4 cup shredded coconut

1. In a covered pot, boil sweet potatoes until tender (about 25 minutes). Drain and return to pan. 2. Preheat oven to 350. Mash slightly with a potato masher. Add next six ingredients and stir until well combined.  Transfer to a casserole dish (8x8). 3. Sprinkle with coconut. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until coconut is toasted.

Book Review: Grilled Cheese & More

Once in awhile the man that I love decides to cook dinner. This usually involves one of two things, grilled meat or grilled cheese sandwiches of some kind, which is why I purchase Grilled Cheese & More for him. His go-to sandwich is the Grilled Cheese, Ham & Onion Melt. It's not exactly healthy, but it is very delicious. (However, he did cut the cheese by 75% from the original because it was a bit too much. He also traded turkey for ham and increased the grilled onion ratio.) If you like grilled cheese, this book provides lots of delicious variations.

Grilled Cheese, Turkey and Onion Melts
2 teaspoons butter or margarine
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/3 cup honey mustard*
2 slices of Muenster cheese
6 slices of thinly sliced smoked turkey
4 slices of rye bread

1. Melt butter in a pan. Add onions. Cook over medium heat until tender, stirring often. Reduce heat to medium-low and add sugar. Cook 15-20 minutes or until onions are caramelized. Stir in mustard and remove from heat.
2.Divide onions, turkey and cheese between two sandwiches. Grill until toasted and cheese is melted.

* We've use ordinary honey mustard which works fine. Cranberry mustard works better. But your very best option is Mary Helen's Mustard Custard Sauce. Wow, that stuff on caramelized onions is amazing. It looks kind of strange on the onions versus regular mustard, but oh is it delicious.

Sorry, no picture. The sandwiches never last long enough.

Meatless Mondays

When perusing Skinny Bovine Kitchen I came across a link to Meatless Monday. Their goal is to get people to reduce meat consumption to improve personal health and the health of our planet. Hoorays! I can't go full vegetarian, but I can go meatless once a week. Here's a great quote from their site.
"Going meatless once a week may reduce your risk of chronic preventable conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. It can also help reduce your carbon footprint and save precious resources like fresh water and fossil fuel."
 So for the past couple weeks we've gone meatless on Mondays. One week we had Black Bean and Mushroom Burgers and last week we had Creamy Tomato Basil Soup with Garlic Knots. I nabbed the garlic knot recipe from Skinny Bovine, and I have to say it was a big hit in my house. It went perfect with my tomato soup which I will share below.Tonight I'm going to try burritos with my own refried beans. I'll let you know how that goes.
 Once I had a terrible experience at the Olive Garden and was determined never to go their again, (which rule didn't last that long) however, I was very much in love with their Creamy Tomato Basil Soup. So I decided to make it myself. After some internet searching I found a copycat recipe that had 75% of your  RDA of saturated fat for the day in one small serving. Yikes! So I cut out the butter and cream, experimented with it several times over the last few years and finally came up with this recipe. My husband hates tomato soup, but he readily eats this and every time I take the leftovers to work I get comments about how great it smells. I will admit that it doesn't taste quite as good as the recipe with butter and cream, but it is still very satisfying. Plus, it's easy to make.

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup
2 cans of diced tomatoes
1 large red onion
2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 can of 2% evaporated milk (or you can make it from nonfat powdered milk)
2 cups of chicken stock
1 tsp of sugar
1 package of fresh basil (I have used 1 Tablespoon of dried basil before, but it's not nearly as good)

1. Finely chop onion and saute in a soup pot with olive oil. When onion is clear transfer to blender with a can of tomatoes (not drained). 2. Puree onion and tomatoes and return to pot. Puree second can of tomatoes  with basil and add to pot. (I found that if you try to puree both cans of tomatoes at once you will most often have a large mess. I've also tried fore-going the puree step. It is worth the hassle, because it really gives you a smooth creamy texture.) 3. Add milk, sugar and chicken stock. Stir until heated all the way through.

Book Review: The Essential Mormon Cookbook

I received The Essential Mormon Cookbook: Green Jell-O, Funeral Potatoes, and Other Secret Combinations by Julie Badger Jensen as a wedding gift and in the years since then it has served me well. I find it amusing that so many times I have found a "new" great recipe in a cooking magazine, at a church function or from a neighbor and as it turns out the same or nearly identical recipe  to what was in this book all along. It's like this woman has been to every LDS ward function everywhere and taken note of all the good stuff.
 I love this quote from the intro "Written to gladden the heart, this book is meant to strengthen families and friendships and to encourage and inspire both new and seasoned cooks with confidence in their own abilities and creativity and to celebrate the good things which come of the earth..." Yes, that is what I believe cooking should be about! There are lots of great recipes in here, however I will put in the disclaimer that many of them are not what I would consider "healthy" or "low-fat". More like "comfort food". (But not all are like that.) A favorite recipe from this book that has been a hit with even some very picky eaters, is one that I've come across in at least four other places. That means it has to be good right? I changed it in that I put in the crock pot, because I love my crock pot. It makes my life easier.

Apricot Chicken
4-5 lbs of chicken (You can use boneless skinless chicken breasts, drumsticks, whatever you like)
1 cup of Russian dressing
1 cup of apricot jam
1 package dry onion soup mix
1. Combine last three ingredients in a bowl.2. Put all ingredients in a crock pot. Cook on low for 4 hours.3. Serve with brown rice. Serves 8.
If you don't want to make this in the crock pot you can bake uncovered in a casserole pan @ 350 degrees for one hour. I generally only make this when someone comes over because it makes way more than my little family can eat.

Skinny Bovine's Kitchen

Recently I stumbled on this blog. Britt is a stay at home mom who loves to cook and for health reasons can only eat healthy things, and like so many of us is trying to do it on a budget. Healthy cooking on a budget, now that's something of great interest to me.  In addition to recipes, she has tips on healthy eating throughout her blog. Last week I tried a few of her recipes and here are the results. (Just look at her pics because they turned out so much better than mine.) To see more of her awesome recipes check out skinnybovineskitchen.blogspot.com

 Black Bean and Mushroom Burgers
1 dash olive oil, plus additional for brushing
1 cup finely chopped onion
8 ounces baby portobello mushrooms, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika (or regular)
4 slices whole wheat sandwich bread, lightly toasted
15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
2 ounces (about 1/2 cup) crumbled goat cheese
salt and fresh ground black pepper
4 ciabatta buns, split and toasted
your choice of toppings
Preheat grill. In a large skillet, heat a dash of oil over medium-high. Add onion - cook until golden, about 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in mushrooms, garlic, cumin and paprika - cook until the mushrooms have released their juices, about 4 to 6 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly.
Tear toasted bread into pieces and place into a food processor (or blender) - process until broken down into crumbs (I used 6 slices of bread because the pieces were small and when it came time to make the patties the consistency didn't seem stiff enough). Pour into a medium bowl. Add mushroom mixture, beans and cilantro into the food processor bowl - pulse until combined, but not smooth - leave some chunky bits.  (At this point I couldn't help but sing "Mix it in a mincer and pretend it's beef " from Les Mis.) Scoop mixture into the bowl with the bread crumbs - add goat cheese and season with salt and fresh ground black pepper. Mix ingredients together, then divide into four equal portions. with dampened hands, shape each portion into 4 thick patties. Lightly brush each side of all patties with oil. (I still couldn't get them to form patties very well. I just plopped a giant scoop of the mixture on my Foreman grill and it worked, although my patties seemed to be much flatter and wider than hers.)
Place patties onto the grill and cook until thoroughly heated through and the outside has crisped, about 8 minutes per side. Serve burgers on toasted buns and with desired toppings.

The Verdict: These were really, really good. Even meat loving man liked them, although he was kind of sceptical when he walked in the kitchen and I was in the mixing phase. I didn't even try to get the kids to eat them, they don't even like real meat. I will definitely make these again.

Engagement Chicken

3 lbs whole chicken
2 medium lemons
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
sea salt (to taste)
ground black pepper (to taste)
optional: I also added 6 cloves of garlic to the inside of the chicken

1. Place rack in upper third of oven and preheat to 400 degrees.
2. Wash chicken inside and out with cold water, remove the giblets, then let the chicken drain, cavity down, in a colander until it reaches room temperature (about 15 min). Pat dry with paper towels.
3. Pour lemon juice all over the chicken (inside and outside), season with salt and pepper.
4. Prick the whole lemons three times with a fork and place deep inside the cavity (I cut them 1/2 way through). (Tip: if lemons are hard, roll on the countertop with your palm to get juices flowing.)
5. Place the chicken breast-side down on a rack in a roasting pan, lower heat to 350 and bake uncovered for 15 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and turn it breast-side up; Return it to oven for 35 minutes more.
7. Test for doneness - a meat thermometer inserted in the thigh should read 180, or juices should run clear when chicken is pricked with a fork.
8. Continue baking if necessary.
9. Let chicken cool for a few minutes before carving.
10. Serve with juices.

The Verdict: This didn't turn out as well as I had imagined, but I claim all the blame. I pulled the chicken out of the freezer Monday morning and put it in the fridge. Tuesday evening when I started it was still frozen. So I defrosted it in the microwave for 30 minutes. I baked it for 10 minutes longer than recommended and the juices where I stabbed ran clear, so I thought it was done. When meat loving man started carving it became apparent that it wasn't. So I cooked it some more, and some more. I ended up cooking it for 2 hours total before I felt it was done enough.
 Rewind to when I thought dinner was supposed to be ready. I had put out a clean table cloth, used my best plates, opened a bottle of sparkling French lemonade and made delicious potatoes with garlic and fresh rosemary. And that's what we had for dinner: potatoes and lemonade. The kids had chicken nuggets with their potatoes and we had engagement chicken more than an hour later. The chicken was good, but it was quite the hassle. I was also reminded of why I only buy my chicken in skinless boneless form. I really don't like having to touch raw meat. (The next day I used the carcass to make some great chicken stock. It made my whole house smell wonderful.) So I may possibly make this again, but not often and I won't freeze and defrost the chicken.

Cilantro Lime Chicken and Black Bean Pizza

Chicken:

1 chicken breast, cut into small pieces

1 clove garlic, minced

3 tablespoons lime juice

2 teaspoons olive oil

Combine all ingredients and marinate all day or overnight. Cook chicken in marinade in a saucepan sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle with cumin and black pepper while cooking.

Pizza Sauce:

3/4 cup fat free sour cream

5-6 tablespoons cilantro, tightly packed

1/2 teaspoon lime juice

2 tablespoons green enchilada sauce

2 tablespoons green onion, chopped (no need to chop it finely - it will get that way in the blender!)

1/4 teaspoon chopped garlic

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin

Combine all ingredients in blender. Blend until smooth.

Pizza dough: 

1 tablespoon quick rise yeast

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 cup very warm water (as hot as you can get it from your tap)

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups white flour

a little bit less than 2 cups whole wheat flour

a teaspoon or so of olive oil (or none if you prefer)

1. Combine yeast, sugar and water in large bowl. Stir until it starts to bubble.

2. Add salt and flour (and oil if you wish). Knead just until combined.

3. Cover and let rise - minimum 1 hour, but it's better if you let it rise for 2 hours.

4. Roll out dough. Top with desired toppings. Cook in oven at 400 for 10-15 minutes.

Putting the pizza together:

After rolling out pizza crust on a large cookie sheet, spread all of prepared sauce onto the crust. Spread cooked chicken and 1 can black beans (rinsed and drained) onto the crust. Top with cheese and salsa fresca.

The Verdict: I've never been to CPK, but I do like different kinds of pizza and was really excited to try this. It didn't turn out as well as I was hoping. My kids wouldn't try it. (Surprise, surprise.) My husband said it tasted like an enchilada sandwich. I liked it, but I think it would be better with some sauteed onions and chopped fresh mango. Or possibly fore-go the salsa fresca and just use some of the mango salsa from Costco. I will however, definitely be using her pizza crust recipe again. It turned out much better than my usual.

Spicy Pasta with Broccoli
12-15 ounces dry short pasta (I used whole wheat penne)
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 head broccoli (roughly 1.5 pounds), florets sliced into bite-size pieces
1/3 cup water + a little more
salt and fresh ground black pepper
2 ounces (about 1/2 cup) fresh grated Parmesan, divided (optional)
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, seasoned and cooked according to your liking
In a large pot of boiling salted water, add pasta and cook according to package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid, then drain and place back into the pot off heat.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat oil over medium. stir in garlic and crushed red pepper - cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add broccoli and 1/3+ cup water - season with salt and pepper. Cover skillet and cook until broccoli just begins to soften, about 5 to 8 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook until the excess water has evaporated and the broccoli is crisp-tender, about 1 to 2 additional minutes.
Scoop broccoli mixture into the pot with the pasta and add 1 ounce (about 1/4 cup) parmesan and enough of the reserved pasta water to create a thin sauce. Serve with the remaining parmesan scattered on top. Serve with chicken on top.

The Verdict: This was very good and very easy. My daughter happily ate an entire plate. I will definitely do this again. It was super quick and used stuff I already had. (I used the leftover engagement chicken in it.) I only used 1/4 tsp of red pepper because I was afraid my kids wouldn't eat otherwise. Next time I think I will use a whole teaspoon of red pepper.

Rainbow Cupcakes

I found this festive idea in the March 2010 issue of Family Fun Magazine. They were fun, and my daughter loved them, but they turned out to be a little more work than I expected. It was worth it, but not something I would do on a regular basis.

1. Prepare your favorite white cake mix, then divide the batter evenly among six small bowls. (About 1/2 cup of batter per bowl.) Following the chart below, dye each bowl of batter a rainbow color.
   
   
   

   RAINBOW COLOR	DROPS OF FOOD COLORING
   Purple	9 red and 6 blue drops
   Blue	12 drops
   Green	12 drops
   Yellow	12 drops
   Orange	12 yellow and 4 red drops
   Red	18 drops

   
   
   
   
   
   
2. Line 16 muffin pan wells with baking cups. Evenly distribute the purple batter among the cups, then the blue, and so on, following the order shown. As you go, gently spread each layer of batter with the back of a spoon to cover the color underneath.
   
3. Bake the cupcakes according to your recipe directions. Before serving, remove the paper wrapping, and if you like, top each cupcake with a whipped-cream cloud.