by jphilo | Mar 14, 2012 | Recipes
A few weeks ago, I claimed to be done sharing new recipes we tried when the kids were all home for Christmas. But I forgot about this simple breakfast recipe – with oatmeal as its main ingredient – that was a big hit.
Again, it’s a recipe from the internet, chosen because:
- It made the right amount.
- It used evaporated milk, and there was a 1/2 can of the stuff in the fridge waiting to be used.
- It looked easy.
Without further ado, here’s the recipe whose main ingredient is oatmeal, the grain that deserves a food group all its own…
Old-Fashioned Oatmeal
2 1/2 cups water
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups dry, old-fashioned rolled oats
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 5 ounce can evaporated milk ( or slightly more than 1/2 cup)
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar, to taste
Bring the water to a boil in a medium sauce pan. Add salt.
Stir constantly while gradually adding oatmeal. Continue stirring while adding cinnamon and first 2 tablespoons sugar. Cook for one minute, then add evaporated milk. Continue stirring until mixture returns to a boil.
Pour into bowls. Top with butter and brown sugar to taste.
by jphilo | Mar 6, 2012 | Recipes
A month back or so, I fixed suppers for two families in our church. The dessert was a pan of brownies, divided between the two families, except for a couple the cook ate for quality control purposes. My friend Clare’s recipe looked delicious, but there wasn’t enough time to devote to it. But an internet search turned up a quick, easy recipe that called for some of the unsweetened baking squares I picked up for half-price at Walmart after Christmas.
Ka-ching!
According to the internet, this recipe is also printed on the inner side of each box of Baker’s unsweetened chocolate squares. That sounds really handy, except for this.
Each box contains 8 squares.
The recipe calls for 4 squares.
Getting to the recipe requires cutting apart the box.
Once the cook cuts apart the box, she has four homeless chocolate squares.
Where are they supposed to live?
Despite the problem created by Baker’s recipe engineers, these brownies were as easy and delicious as they sounded. I added almond extract and skipped the nuts (one of the families receiving the brownies has little kids), but other than that, the recipe is like the one printed on the inside of the Baker’s chocolate box. In case you don’t want homeless chocolate squares living in cardboard boxes in the alley behind your house.
One Bowl Brownies
4 squares Baker’s unsweetened chocolate
3/4 cups butter or margarine
2 cups sugar (yeah, it’s a lot, but cutting down the sugar in fudge brownies is dangerous)
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup flour
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts (optional)
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 13 x 9 baking pan with foil extending over edges to form “handles.” Grease foil.
Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwavable bowl on high 2 minutes or until butter is melted. Remove from microwave and stir until butter is melted.
Stir sugar into chocolate mixture until well blended. Mix in eggs, vanilla, and almond extract until well-blended. Stir in flour and nuts until well blended. Spread into prepared pan.
Bake for 30 – 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out with fudgy crumbs. Do not overbake. Cool in pan. Lift out of pan onto cutting board. Cut into squares. Makes 24 brownies.
by jphilo | Feb 29, 2012 | Recipes
Do you remember the meatloaf controversy generated by a comment made in the December 14 post? The one where I innocently stated my ambivalence toward meatloaf?
Well several people from both sides of the meatloaf controversy made comments about my predilection, but one particular comment caught my attention. It was from my cousin Karen. She said she wasn’t a meatloaf lover either, but recommended a recipe from another of our cousins (there are 37 of us), Gail.
Karen sent the recipe, which I tried a few weeks ago. It received the coveted Hiram seal of approval with special commendation in the “best leftovers” category. Though it didn’t receive my seal, due to my continued and unrepentant ambivalence, it was the best meatloaf I have ever tasted. Give it a try and leave a comment!
Gail’s Little Cheddar Meat Loaves
1 pound 93% lean ground beef
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup quick cooking oatmeal
1 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients together. Form into 8 mini loaves and place into a greased 9 x 13 pan.
Mix together 2/3 cup ketchup, 1 1/2 teaspoons mustard and 1/4 cup sugar. Drizzle over mini loaves. Bake 45 – 60 minutes.
Note: Karen says she always makes and bakes a double batch, then freezes the leftovers for fast meals.
by jphilo | Feb 22, 2012 | Recipes
Well, it took until February 15 to reach the last of the new recipes used during our family Christmas celebration. It may take longer than that to lose the weight gained from sampling all those new dishes.
But let’s not go there.
Today’s recipe came about by accident. We didn’t celebrate Christmas with the kids until New Year’s Weekend, so a few days before they arrived, I made a Wal-Mart run to see if any post-Christmas bargains remained. I hit the motherlode in the aisle where the Christmas baking items had been marked down by 50% – including Bakers Unsweetened Chocolate Baking Squares and Ghirardelli chocolate baking chunks which the local grocery stores were selling at full price.
Score!
I picked up bags of everything and used them for stocking stuffers, which our foodie kids absolutely loved. However, they weren’t sure what to do with the Bakers unsweetened baking squares. But I remembered how my mom occasionally used the unsweetened squares to make hot chocolate. So I found a recipe for rich ‘n thick hot chocolate online. The recipe sounded so rich and thick, I doubled the amount of milk and halved the sugar.
And guess what?
It was still plenty rich, thick, and sweet. It was also as delicious as Mom’s used to be. Now, without further ado, here is the recipe…which is much shorter than the introduction to it.
Plenty Rich ‘N Thick Hot Chocolate
1 cup water
2 ounces Bakers unsweetened baking chocolate
1/4 cup sugar
6 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
Place water and chocolate in cereal bowl. Microwave for 1 minute. Pour into heavy medium saucepan and continue cooking over medium heat. Whisk until mixture is well-blended. Add sugar. Mix well.
Bring to a boil on medium-high heat. Boil 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk, stirring with wire whisk until well-blended. Stir in vanilla. Reduce heat to medium.
Cook until mixture is heated through, stirring occasionally. Serve hot.
by jphilo | Feb 15, 2012 | Recipes
Believe it or not, there are still two more recipes to share from our Christmas celebration, one of which is lemon-blueberry scones. As this post shows, both the younger and more mature (I’m not ready to say older yet) generations of our family takes cooking and baking seriously. Why do I say that? Because this recipe comes once again from niece Leslie who loves to experiment with baked goods.
Leslie made from scratch lemon and blueberry scones for breakfast one day. By the time we arrived, only the pictured scone and half of another one remained. I polished off the half-scone and begged my niece for the recipe. Once again, I forgot to ask where the original recipe came from. Leslie, if you can provide that information, please leave a comment!
Blueberry Lemon Scones
Scones:
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons cold butter
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cup blueberries
zest of 1/2 lemon
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Cut in cold butter. Mixture should look like coarse crumbs.
Make a well in center and pour in buttermilk. Fold everything together. Do not overwork. Fold blueberries and zest into batter being careful not to mash them. (Leslie says she uses her hands on this step.)
Separate dough into two equal lumps. Form into circles and cut into fourths. Bake on cookie sheet for 15 – 20 minutes, until golden brown.
Glaze:
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2 cups powdered sugar
zest of 1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon butter
Mix lemon juice and sugar together in a microwave-safe bowl. Add zest and butter. Microwave for 30 seconds on high. Whisk glaze until smooth, then drizzle over scones.
Note: The glaze is delicious, but I would probably half the amount since Hiram and I are watching our sugar intake. To tell the truth, these lemon-blueberry scones were so delicious, they would taste great without any glaze at all!
by jphilo | Feb 8, 2012 | Recipes
In last Wednesday’s recipe post, I shared a sweet version of an eggy, fluffy pancake called a Dutch Baby. It was my adaptation of the Dutch Baby featured in Pam Anderson’s CookSmart column in USA Weekend Magazine‘s December 23-25 issue. Today, you get my rendition of the savory version also featured in the column.
I substituted onions for the leeks in Pam’s recipe and turned it vegetarian by leaving out the ham. Believe it or not, despite my sweet tooth I preferred this savory variation over last week’s sweeter one. If you try them both, leave a comment about which one is your favorite. Or, share your adaptations for this way easy breakfast treat.
Dutch Baby with Onion and Sharp Cheddar
1 cup skim milk (original recipe calls for whole milk)
4 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
1 cup grated, extra-sharp cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons butter
Adjust rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Whisk milk, eggs and salt in a medium bowl; vigorously whisk in flour until mostly smooth with a few small lumps; let stand for a few minutes and whisk again. Or use a blender for instantly smooth batter. (I used the blender method – super easy.)
Meanwhile heat butter in a heavy-bottom 10 inch skillet (cast iron works well) over medium heat. Add onions and saute until transparent. Add tarragon; cook a minute or so longer. Pour milk mixture into skillet. Transfer to oven and bake until puffed and golden brown, 15-17 minutes.
Without removing Dutch Baby from oven, sprinkle with cheese and turn oven to broil. Broil until very puffy and golden brown, a couple minutes longer. (Careful on this step. As the picture shows, it goes from golden brown to that’s-not-burned-it’s-nicely-browned-now-shut-up-and-eat-it in a flash.) Serve immediately from the skillet.
