Where You'll Find Me

This blog has been rather quiet of late. I'm still cooking, but I've been posting new recipes at a new website:  Cook and Count. The new site features the same family-friendly recipes you're used to finding here, with the addition of carbohydrate information per serving.

That's because my youngest child was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes this past November. Fortunately I haven't had to learn a new way to cook, but I have had to pay attention to how many carbs are in the food my son eats.

The recipes at Cook and Count are for anyone--not just diabetics. And yes, there will still be cookies. Little Brother can still have cookies, as long as he knows how many carbs are in them so he can use insulin accordingly. He is learning to enjoy two cookies instead of scarfing down five or six. (And that's a good thing.)

This site isn't going anyplace, but new posts will be happening at the new site.

Secret Recipe Club

I don't believe in secret recipes. In my opinion, recipes are meant to be shared. When someone asks me for a recipe for a food I've served them, I take that as a huge compliment.

I remember when I used to help out at Bingo at my older son's school. I worked in the kitchen, cooking hot dogs and making coffee. There was an older lady who would show up at Bingo every Sunday with an amazing-looking chocolate cake. As soon as people saw her, they'd line up at the window, waiting for a slice.

People always wanted her recipe, and she would never share it. She said that she wouldn't even give this recipe to her own kids. What a shame!

The Secret Recipe Club is not about people who keep their recipes secret. Instead, it's a chance for bloggers to SECRETLY visit a food blog, prepare a recipe, and report back. Then, all at the same time, we post about it on our blogs. Only then do we find out who picked a recipe from our blog--and which one!

It's lots of fun. And tomorrow's the first of three Big Reveals for the month of August--this group has gotten so big that it had to be broken into three. Check back tomorrow to see whose recipe I chose. Until then--shhh! It's a secret!

Calzones

Everyone in my family likes calzones, but I haven't had the greatest success making them at home.  I had high hopes, though, when I bookmarked the recipe for Buffalo Chicken Calzones over at Once a Month Mom.

Since I don't like Buffalo chicken, I decided to make some of my calzones with barbecue chicken.  These wound up being the ones everyone loved. 

The next time, I filled the calzones with mozzarella cheese and sliced meatballs.  Once again, this was a hit!  (The pictures are from the meatball batch, but the technique is the same.)

BARBECUED CHICKEN FILLING

2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
1 cup Cheddar or Cheddar-Jack cheese, shredded
1 medium onion, caramelized
1 cup barbecue sauce

MEATBALL FILLING
10 to 12 meatballs, sliced (1 per calzone)
1 cup spaghetti sauce
1 cup mozzarella cheese

One sliced meatball per calzone.

Top with cheese (the kids want me to add more next time!)

Crimp it tightly so the filling doesn't leak out!

HOMEMADE PIZZA DOUGH from Once a Month Mom
15 ounces warm water
1 TBL active dry yeast
1 TBL sugar
2 1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 TBL olive oil
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

This is the easiest pizza dough ever!  Just mix yeast, sugar, salt and olive oil with the warm water in a large bowl.  Mix in the flour with a wooden spoon.  No kneading necessary.  The dough will not look or feel like a kneaded bread dough, but don't worry!  Cover with a towel and let it rest at room temperature for about 2 hours.  (In summer, if I have the air conditioner on, I take the covered bread bowl out to the porch to rise the dough.)
Roll out the dough on a floured surface and divide it into 10 to 12 portions for calzones.

Calzone dough immediately after mixing.

2 hours later, here's the dough after rising!

TO BAKE:   Place finished calzones on cookie sheet (I cover the sheet in parchment paper.)  Brush tops of calzones with olive oil.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese if desired.  Bake in preheated 450-degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

Print this recipe!

Now with Pictures!!

I'm not the finest photographer in the world, but I do love to see photos of a finished dish (and sometimes, photos of work in progress helps me make sense of the steps.)

So, since I like that feature in other people's blogs, I've been trying to include it in my own.

Last night I made Shrimp Scampi with Linguine and photographed that before we dug in.

Are you hungry yet?  (Yes, I added the photo to my recipe post, but I put it here to whet your appetite.)  I'd eat this again today, but we're out of shrimp now.

I admit that the photo-adding idea is not my own; Kristen at Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker has been working on this project, and her determination has inspired me to fill in my own recipe-photo gaps.  Thanks, Kristen!

Leftover Magic!

I'm not "anti-leftovers" but I do think that disguising them is the way to go. When we eat leftovers, they are rarely in the same form as the original meal.

Here are some recipes I use when I have leftovers.

Mashed potato cakes
Fried rice and Frugal Leftover Fried Rice
Quesadillas

BEEF
Fajitas
Beef paysanne
Enchiladas. This is a great way to use up leftover pot roast or roast beef--pour some canned enchilada sauce into a casserole dish, mix some sauce with shredded cooked beef, chopped onions and cheese, roll up enchiladas, and top with more sauce and cheese. Cover and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
Beef Burgundy Stroganoff
Chili (great way to use up cooked hamburgers!)

CHICKEN (or TURKEY)
Turkey stock
Fajitas
Turkey or chicken paprikas
Cousin Sharon's Chicken & Biscuit Stew
Chicken & Dumplings
Chicken Fajita Soup
Grandpa's Dark Meat Chicken
Pot Pie
Chicken Chili Blanco
Chicken & Noodle Casserole
Chicken Divan
Scarborough Fair Chicken Soup (I made stock with the turkey carcass, so this would be a great way to use it!)
Crescent Casserole
Lo Mein (also works with pork, and--BONUS--uses up the leftover spaghetti!)

PORK
Pulled pork sandwiches (also works with chicken)

Go Meatless!

Next week Lent begins, so it's time to start thinking about meatless meals.

I do try to serve a meatless meal on Fridays anyway, but in Lent it's non-negotiable.

The Faith & Family bloggers are compiling some Lenten menus. This roundup is my contribution. With the exception of ONE recipe that I have not yet tried, all of these are tried and true and a regular part of my family's dinner plan. Yes, my kids eat fish. Actually, they love fish. But not all of these are fish recipes, so if fish is not going to be on your table for whatever reason, you can still find plenty of options here.

Pasta with marinara sauce (add shrimp or scallops if you like)

Cheese ravioli with marinara sauce

Cheese-and-salsa quesadillas

Grilled cheese sandwiches with soup (tomato or clam chowder)

"Vegetarian Flips"--like a quesadilla, but add some refried beans and salsa

Baked fish

Teriyaki salmon (Easiest way EVER to make salmon!)

Spanish Garlic Shrimp

Pizza

Veggie calzones (this is a recipe I intend to try soon. You can fill these with just about anything! I'm planning on peppers, onions, cheese and marinara.)

Saffron risotto with shrimp

Shrimp fried rice

Potato and cheese pierogi


Salmon burgers

Homemade macaroni and cheese

Arroz con habichuelas (great with quesadillas or tomato soup)

Pasta e fagioli (you can make this with vegetable stock instead of chicken broth!)

And there's always the "breakfast for dinner" option. French toast and fresh fruit make a nice change of pace.

Wishing you a blessed Lent!

Tried and True

Some recipes we've tasted that are definitely "keepers!"

Amanda's Homemade Pull-apart dinner rolls. EASY--there is no "rise after shaping" and the salt on top is yummy. Great with soup.

Barbara's Sweet Tea: yummy!

Barbara's Melt-in-Your-Mouth Braised and Barbecued Chicken. Long title. Great chicken.

Sunday breakfast and dinner recipes

I bought a chuck roast the other day intending to cube it up for stew. But I decided to look around for other ways to use the chuck roast. This recipe for Slow Cooker Beef with Root Vegetables looks good! This might be our Sunday dinner along with some Portuguese Easter bread. Or maybe this version of pot roast!

MARK'S POT ROAST

3 lb. chuck roast
Olive oil as needed
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pint beef stock
1 cup red wine
1 tablespoon tomato paste (optional)
2 bay leaves
Chopped thyme, rosemary and parsley to taste
4-5 red potatoes
4 large carrots
20 pearl onions or 2 medium Spanish onions
4 cloves garlic, chopped

Take the widest covered pot you have and place it on the stove on high heat. Brush the roast with olive oil and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Add oil to the pot, wait till it starts to smoke and sear the roast on each side until browned. Remove the roast, add the wine and deglaze the pot, scraping the browned bits off the bottom, as the wine comes to a boil. Add the stock and tomato paste, return it to a boil, and then reduce it to a simmer. Add salt, pepper, bay leaves, thyme and rosemary. Add the meat back into the pot and cover. Place the pot in a 350 degree oven or maintain it at a very gentle simmer on the stovetop for two hours. Meanwhile, peel and cut the potatoes into quarters and place them in a bowl of water to prevent them from browning. Cut the carrots into large chunks. Peel the pearl onions and leave them whole or peel and quarter the Spanish onions. At the 90 minute point add all of the vegetables and garlic. Cook for another half hour or until the vegetables are tender. If it takes a little longer than two total hours that's fine. A little extra cooking time will not harm the meat. Add the chopped parsley just before service.

Deborah just posted these Cinnamon French Toast Cups over at her Tast.ie food blog! I HAVE to try these. I've been meaning to do the French Toast Cups anyway, and this cinnamon version...how can you miss?

Cinnamon French Toast Cups

(makes 8)

• 3 eggs
• 2 fl. oz / 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 3 tbsp melted butter
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 5 slices bread, cubed

Pre-heat oven to 200C/400F

Whisk the eggs with all the ingredients except bread. Once well combined add the bread and toss to coat. All the liquid should be soaked up.

Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray or butter 8 holes. Spoon the bread mixture into each muffin hole.

Bake for ten minutes until cooked through and slightly crispy on top. Glaze and serve.

For the glaze:

• 1/2 cup powdered/icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp milk

Whisk all ingredients together until smooth. Pour over toast cups.

Saving Money on Food

Casual Kitchen has a ton of links in this post: A Recession-Proof Guide to Saving Money on Food.

I've also recently picked up this book: The Frugal Family's Kitchen Book by Mary Webber. What an excellent book! It's more than a cookbook, which is why it's called a kitchen book. It deals with all kinds of money-saving strategies. If you know a young person or young couple just starting out on their own, this book would be an excellent gift!

Kitchen Tip-O-Rama!!

Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer hosts Works-for-Me Wednesday, and this week there's a theme: Kitchen Organization.

How could I resist? As of this writing, 263 bloggers have contributed links to their posts with favorite kitchen tips.

I've already put one of them to good use and I'm sure to find others. It's worth a little time to check out these tried and true tips.

My name is Barb, and I'm a tip-o-holic. Just try and stop me.

Fascinating Spice Information!

This post on how long spices really last and how to find spices less expensively is well worth the read. There is also a link to making your own spice mixes.

I've got 4 little "baskets" full of jars of spices in my kitchen cabinets right now. The only "blend" I buy is lemon pepper. It's easy enough to blend my own for other seasoning mixes--and I just save my old spice jars to hold them. An old oregano or basil jar is great for Italian seasoning. When a cinnamon jar is almost empty, I fill it halfway with sugar and have one of the kids shake it up. Instant cinnamon-sugar for topping waffles or muffins!

Spices are pricey, so any little way I can save on them sounds good to me (here's one that wasn't mentioned: buy it in bulk and share with a neighbor!)