Molasses Taffy (Better Homes and Gardens 1947)

This is one of the recipes that I found whilst I was estate sale shopping. You can find drawers and piles of old clippings of newspaper and magazine recipes!

Ingredients
1/2 C Brown Sugar
1 1/4 C light molasses
3/4 C light corn syrup
1/4 t soda
1/12 T butter
1 C chopped walnuts

Directions
Combine sugar, molasses, and syrup. Stir to dissolve sugar. Cook to light-crack stage (265*). Add soda and butter; mix well. Add nuts. Pour into greased shallow pan. When cool enough to handle, pull until very light. Form into ropes; cut with scissors. Makes 2 dozen pieces.

OOPSY Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is an oops. But a good oops. I was making Chocolate Chip cookies with my boys and I realized that the dough was really dry. I looked at the recipe on the Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chips bag and realized that I forgot the butter! I had already added the pile of chocolate chips to the dough but had not mixed it yet. So, I melted the butter in the microwave and poured it over the chocolate chips, slightly melting them. Mixed the cookie dough anyway and made the cookies. They turned out even better! My husband said that these were the best cookies I had made yet! They turned out more fluffy and gooey than normal and the dough was slightly chocolaty as well from the melted butter melting the chocolate! See... Distractions are not always a bad thing! Sometimes, mistakes can turn out for the better!

Happy Eating!

Baked Eggs!

***This post was from September 2

It is egg season on our farm and we have an abundance. This morning I made baked eggs, an idea from Julia Child on a 60's showing of "The French Chef" titled Elegence with Eggs. Take a muffin tin and butter the cups. Add your eggs (one fits nicely in a standard size), and salt and pepper to taste. you can also add cream for more of a custardy taste. Put the tin in a Pyrex baking dish with water in the bottom. Put on the stove top over medium heat until the bottom of the eggs turn white. Then put the Pyrex with the tin and water in the oven under a hot broiler. Leave the oven cracked open to check on the eggs. Takes about 2-3 minutes to cook or until the tops of the eggs are white. add diced ham on the side when served. Or serve on top of toasted bread/biscuit with sauce, cheese, and parsley. Use your imagination and share your creations with me!

This recipe is great for breakfast, brunch or an appetizer!

Happy Eating!

For the Julia Child video, click the link below:

http://video.pbs.org/video/1167165458

Homemade Eggos!

Ingredients

3 TBSP butter
1 1/2 C flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
2 TBSP sugar
1 1/2 C Milk
2 eggs

Directions

Preheat the waffle iron. Melt the butter in the microwave. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. IN another bowl, beat together milk and eggs. Whisk liquid mixture into the dry ingredients until combined. Stir in melted butter. Brush the hot waffle iron with butter. Spoon about 1/2 cup of batter (or as much as you need for your iron) onto the iron and close to cook.
Remove and cool. Place in freezer container one at a time with parchment paper in between each waffle.

Best Bread Ever!

This recipe is for just a basic white bread. You can do so many things to it to make it your own! Use whole wheat flour and whole grains for a rich fiberous bread or ad cinnomin and sugar for a coffee/dessert bread! Here is the recipe!

Ingredients:

2 packages active dry yeast (1 yeast package = 2 1/4 tsp loose yeast)

1/2 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)

1 3/4 cups lukewarm water, milk or potato water 

7-7 1/2 cups flour

3 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp salt

2 tbsp soft shortening

Directions:

  In a bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. add the remaining water,milk or potato water (whichever you choose to use), sugar, salt, shortening and 4 cups flour. beat until smooth and batter no longer sticks to the side of the bowl. Place dough onto a floured surface and knead remaining flour into the dough until smooth and elastic. move to a greased bowl and cover with a wet hot towel. Let rise in a warm place (around 85 degrees) until doubled in size. this takes about 1-2 hours.

Punch down, cover and let rise again until almost double. About 45 minutes. Remove from bowl onto a floured surface. 

For Loaves: Divide the dough into two equal parts. shape the loaves by rolling out into a rectangle. Fold the dough the "Hambuger" way and then the "Hot dog" way. Inother words, fold from the sides and then from the bottom to the top. (or top to bottom... This is your bread so do it how you want! lol )  Pinch the ends to seal the loaves. Place in greased bread pans and let rise in a warm place until the sides reach the top of the pan and the center is well rounded. About an hour. place loaves in the preheated oven on the center rack without the sides touching. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a depp golden color. To test the loaves for doneness, tap the crust and listen for a hollow sound. When you hear the hollow sound, remove the bread from t he oven and take out of the pans immediately. let cool completely on a wire cooling rack or set across the tops of the bread pans. Must cool completely before slicing. 

For French style bread: Shape dough into a long cigar shape by rolling. Place dough onto a greased cookie sheet coated with corn meal. With a sharp knife, score the top of the dough in 3 places along the top of the loaf. Let rise and bake as insrtucted above. You could also divied the dough into 2 equal parts and make baguettes which is great for homemade bruschetta!

For Rolls: Prepare as above but shape dough into rols and place in a muffin tin or in a cake pan. let rise again and bake as above.

*Pictured are my cake pan rolls and a few cloverleaf rolls. (There were more but a lot of them had already been eaten!)

Nacho Dip

This is the dip that I make for Football games. It make a whole casserole dish and feeds a crowd (10 servings)! Cheap and easy! 

Ingredients:

2-16 oz cans refried beans

1 package taco seasoning

1-4.5 oz can chopped green chilies

shedded cheese (i use chedder because it is was I always have in the ouse anyway.)

2 medium avacados, mashed

 sour cream

2-21/4 oz cans of sliced olives

1 large onion, diced or 3 green onions, sliced thinly

1 large tomato chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Combine beans, seasoning, and can of chilies stirring well; spread into a 7"x11" baking dish or a 9" deep dish pie plate. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until thouroughly heated. Sprinkle evenly with cheese. Bake 5 minutes more or until the cheese melts. spread avacado over the cheese, sour cream over the avacado,. Top with onions, olives, and tomato. Serve warm with tortilla or corn chips.

Super Easy Stuffed Mushrooms

These are really quick, easy and inexpensive to make. Great for busy people that want to have a great appetizer.

Ingredients:

1 box of turkey stuffing 

20 larger white button mushrooms

Directions:

Wash the mushrooms and remove the stems, setting the stems aside. Start making the stuffing according to package instructions. While it is cooking, arrange the mushrooms on a baking sheet. Finely dice the stems. When the stuffing is done, mix the stems with the stuffing. I use a cereal spoon to stuff the mushrooms. when they are all stuffed (you will probably have left over stuffing for lunch the next day) put them in an oven on broil for about 2-3 minutes untill heated all the way through. 

** For something different, add your favorite cheese to the stuffing mixture before stuffing the mushrooms!

Garden Chili

• 1 lb of ground beef, turkey, or chicken
• 3 cans of beans (I like to mix it up with garbanzo, kidey and black beans.)
• 2 bell peppers 
• 1 cup of grated carrots
• 3 celery stalks
• 1 cup onion
• chili powder

You can either use this recipe in a crock pot or in a stock pot on the cookstove.

If using a crock pot, dice and grate your veggies, add it to the crock pot with the beans and raw beef or turkey crumbled up. Cook on high for 6 hours or low for 8 hours. 

For the stove top. First brown the beef or turkey in the bottom of a large sauce pan. Add salt, pepper and garlic if you like. Once the meat is browned, add the beans with the liquid and onion. cook until the onion is soft. Add the remaining ingredients and chili powder to taste. Simmer on medium low until heated through. About 20-30 minutes. Serve with a side salad and fresh bread!

This Chilis is better the next day for leftovers! You can even freeze half of it for a dinner later in the month!

**Makes about 20 cups of chili**

Make Your Own Mayo

Ingredients

2 eggs

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp honey

6 tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 cups oil

Directions

Blend all ingredients except oil on low speed until smooth. Add oil VERY SLOWLY - this is important to keep the oil from separating. Blend on low speed until well mixed.

Yield: 2.5 cups

** This is great mayo and you can add spices or use olive oil to make it more flavorful! No preservatives and so much better than store bought. **

Cheap Easy Delish Mexican Dinner

Here is a cheap, easy, and quick weeknight dinner that is a new "What's in the Pantry" dinner that my family enjoys. 

Ingredients

2 (15 oz) cans Nalley's Chili 

1 (12 oz) can Mexi-corn (corn with peppers)

1 (8 1/2 oz) box Jiffy Corn  Muffin Mix

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

Directions

In a cassarole dish mix the chili and the corn together. Cover and place in a 400 degree oven to heat through. Meanwhile, mix the egg, milk and corn muffin mix together in a bowl just until smooth. take the chili mix out of the oven and spoon the muffin mix over the hot chili mix. Bake uncovered at 400 for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Spread butter over the corn bread. Brown lightly under the broiler. 

Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients

1 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp minced garlic 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup hot pepper sauce 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro (can use 2-3 tbsp dried cilantro)
1/4 tsp salt 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 egg white

Directions
Preheat oven to 350. lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. In a shallow bowl, whisk the oil, garlic,hot pepper sauce, egg white, salt and 2 tsp water. In another shallow bowl, combine the parmesan, bread crumbs and cilantro. Dip the chicken breast in the egg white mixture to coat. Then dredge in the parmesan mixture to coat completely and place on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining chicken. Lightly coat the chicken with cooking spray and bake for 35 minutes.

**A good variation is to sub the hot pepper sauce for 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce and chopped parsley instead of cilantro.**

Chicken Enchiladas

• To make sauce:
• 2t canola oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1-2 jalapeños, chopped (I only use one for the kids)
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1T chili powder
• 2t cumin
• 1/2T sugar
• 1/2t salt
• 1 15oz can tomato sauce
• 1 cup water (+ more as needed for consistency... much of the water evaporates off when enchiladas bake, so you want your sauce to be rather thin before baking)
• To make chicken enchiladas:
• 4 cups cooked, shredded chicken
• Approx. 14 homemade flour tortillas
• 2 cups shredded cheese (jack, pepper jack, or cheddar/jack mix)
• 1/3c green onions, thinly sliced

Directions:

Heat a pot over medium heat. Swirl canola oil in bottom of pan. Add onions, jalapeños, and garlic. Cook until fragrant and tender.

Add spices, sugar, and salt. Stir and allow spices to toast, 2 minutes.

Pour in tomato sauce and water. Simmer 5 minutes.

[At this point you can cool sauce, blend sauce in blender, and cover and store in refrigerator until ready to use or move on with making enchiladas]

To Make Chicken Enchiladas:

Place  chicken in the pot with sauce and simmer, 30-45 minutes, until chicken has absorbed all the flavor of the sauce.

Preheat oven to 425. Grease a 13x9 pan.

Transfer chicken to bowl, season with salt. Mix and set aside.

Transfer cooled enchilada sauce to blender and whirl until smooth. Put 1/4 cup sauce into bowl of shredded chicken. Add 1/2c shredded cheese to bowl with chicken and sauce. Stir to combine.

Steam homemade flour tortillas in a tortilla warmer in the microwave, about 2 minutes, until hot and pliable. *If you do not have a tortilla warmer, a ziploc bag works well.

Spoon shredded chicken mixture (about 1/4 cup) onto center of warm tortilla, roll, and place seam-side down in greased pan. Repeat until all the chicken has been used.

Lightly spray the top of enchiladas with cooking spray. Cook, uncovered, for 7 minutes.

Remove pan from oven. Pour enchilada sauce over the entire pan of enchiladas.

Sprinkle remaining cheese evenly over top. Sprinkle green onions over cheese.

Bake 20 minutes more, or until sauce is bubbly and cheese is gooey and melted.

Flour Torillas

These tortillas are AWESOME! I never buy tortillas anymore since I found this recipe! Try it out. So quick and easy.

Ingredients:

3 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 cup warm water

Directions:

Combine all the flour, salt, oil and water until it forms a dough. take the dough and make into 1"-2" balls. Pat the dough flat with your hands and take a rolling pin to roll into circles. Try to get it as thin as you can. Put the dough on a flat pan on the stove (I use my large cast iron pan) and cook until there are little brown specs on both sides like you would see on tortillas from the store.

That's it!