CHIPOTLE COLESLAW

This is a quick side dish for today’s Cinco de Mayo dinner. It has traditional coleslaw veggies with just a slight twist on the dressing.

1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon limejuice
2 teaspoons honey
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 to ¼ teaspoon ground chipotle chile pepper
3 cups shredded green cabbage
½ cup chopped red cabbage
1/3 cup chopped red onion
¾ cup chopped red (or yellow) bell pepper
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (optional)

Stir together mayonnaise, juice, honey, cumin and ground chipotle pepper (set aside). Combine remaining ingredients, pour chipotle dressing over, and toss to mix. Serve immediately (or chill up to 24 hours).

 

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CROCKPOT TURKEY BREAST

WEEK DAY TURKEY DINNER!!

 

Have you ever cooked a whole turkey breast in the crockpot? I did, for the first time, this weekend, and I can tell you I will be doing it again and again. It was super tender without being dried out (in fact it was quite moist and flavorful) and it makes enough broth to make a wonderful gravy too!
5 pound bone-in turkey breast
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
3 stalks celery chopped
1/2 cup chicken broth
black pepper

The size of your crockpot will determine how many pounds of turkey you can cook. I've found turkey breasts weighing as little as 4 1/2 pounds and as much as 7 pounds.
 Wash and pat dry your turkey breast. Trim the meat so that it will fit into the crockpot ( I had to remove a little of the rib bones to get it to fit into my crockpot). Coat the surface of the turkey with minimal butter and rub the dry onion soup mix and pepper all over the surface of the turkey. Put the chopped celery into the bottom of the crockpot and add 1/2 cup of chicken broth. Lay the turkey breast (breastbone or skin side down) on top of the chopped celery. Cook on low for 5-7 hours (see notes below).
NOTE: You are going to be tempted to add more than 1/2 cup of broth to the crockpot, but do not. The turkey will produce plenty of liquid (for gravy) and don't worry about an over-powering onion soup taste, you won't even know its in there, but it really makes a great addition to the gravy.
NOTE: Everyone’s crockpot cooks at a different temperature, so you will have to decide how long you cook this turkey. We like our turkey to come easily off the bone, and that took 6 hours on low for a 5 pound (bone-in) turkey breast. Just start testing it after 5 hours.

This is a great (fool proof) cooking method for turkey breast. I can see so many uses for it like extra turkey if you are having a big holiday dinner, great for turkey sandwiches, casseroles, soups, salads, etc. Tons of possibilities, not to mention a great way to have a nice hot turkey dinner without heating up the kitchen.

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SHORTBREAD COOKIES

A delicious shortbread cookie that has only six very common ingredients and makes a ton of cookies, what more can you ask for? This recipe has the classic shortbread taste (sort of like a Lorna Doone cookie but so much better) and it is So simple, you just mix and pat it into a pan and bake.
5 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups COLD butter (no substitutes)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix flour, sugar in large mixing bowl. Cut the butter into the dry mixture along with vanilla until it turns into fine crumbs. Pat crumbs into an UNgreased 10” x 15” baking pan. Prick all over with fork tines and bake at 350° for 45 minutes. Cool in pan for 15 minutes then cut into small squares. Cool to room temperature.
NOTE: I found it way too tiring on the arms to cut the butter into the flour by hand. Instead, I grated it on a cheese grater and mixed it into the flour best I could. Then I transferred the flour butter mixture to my stand mixer and used the whisk attachment on medium high for about 20 seconds…PERFECT crumbs. I am guessing a food processor would work well too. These are SO good.
NOTE: I was not able to poke holes in my cookies right away (the crumbs seemed too dry). I put them in the oven for about 15 minutes and then took them out and poked holes all over the dough with a fork and it worked fine.

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LIGHT AS AIR PINWHEELS

I found this fabulous recipe for Phyllo Pinwheels on a blog called Cindy’s Place. It is very quick and easy and yet so impressive to look at. They are deliciously light as air and would look fantastic on a baby shower or wedding shower table.
1 package of Pepperidge Farm phyllo dough (freezer section)
1 egg
maraschino cherries

Thaw both sheets of phyllo dough for 40 minutes or until soft enough to handle. Work with one sheet at a time. Unfold the phyllo dough and press out any fold marks. Cut the phyllo dough into 3 full length rectangles, then cut each rectangle into 3 squares each (total 9 per sheet).

For each square, cut (starting in the corners) ¾ of the way to the center (see diagram). Lift a cut corner and secure it in the center (using a micro-dot of water if necessary).Repeat for other corners like this:

Place pinwheels on parchment paper lined baking sheet and brush them with egg wash (1 egg beaten with a little water). Set half of a maraschino cherry in the center. Bake in preheated oven (350°) for 30 minutes or until golden. Remove to cooling rack. Bring 1 cup of powdered sugar + 2 tablespoons of water + 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract + ¼ teaspoon of almond extract to a boil and remove from heat. Brush the cooked pinwheels with this glaze. The glaze will dry to the touch after a little while. These are SO tasty!

NOTE: Cindy's web page is in Portuguese, however, she has been more than helpful in interpreting recipes. I hope you go visit her.

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NO-BAKE CANDY CAKE

I found this idea on a web site a few years ago (long before I was aware of the blogging world). It is a fun (and easy) project which can be tailored to any age, holiday or special occasion.

Need a gift for someone at work or school? Make them a small version. Make a huge version for a table centerpiece at a teenager’s birthday party. The possibilities are endless.

The “candy cake” pictured was made with a 9” cardboard circle for a base. Since the candy you are going to fill this with is heavy, the base cardboard needs to be pretty rigid, so…if in doubt, double-up your cardboard. If you double up your cardboard, wrap it in foil to disguise it.

Next, I hot glued two (FLAT) 8” Styrofoam wreath circles (craft dept. at Walmart) on top of each other, then wrapped them with wide ribbon (to disguise them) and glued them to the cardboard circle base. Now you should have a flat base with a ribbon wrapped “lip” around the outer edge of the base.

Next, attach mini-candy bars or mini-boxes of candy to the outside of the “lip” by placing a SINGLE SMALL DOT of hot glue on the back of the candy wrapper (use my photo as a guide).

Now fill the hollow area inside of the Styrofoam wreath "lip" with loose, wrapped candies, fill to the top.Next, think about decorating the flat top of the Styrofoam “lip”. You can either glue more candy to it, or push lollipops, blow pops, or any candy on a stick, into the Styrofoam so it will add height (see my photo).

TIP: Plan ahead and make sure all of your candy bars are facing in the same direction. Keep your design or color theme in mind when you are choosing candy bars.

TIP: If you are using hot glue on chocolate bars, remember just one little dot will suffice and if you are concerned about it, freeze them first.

TIP: Do not use any unwrapped candy.

TIP: If giving as a gift, this looks especially festive if you wrap it in clear cellophane and decorate it with lots of curly ribbons.

The hardest part of this project is not snacking on the candy while you are constructing it!!!

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BEAR CLAWS

These bear claw pastries are delicious. The dough mixes very easily (no kneading) and the filling for the pastry is equally as easy. The frustrating part is assembly. It is such a sticky dough, that it requires tons of flour on your counter and you have to wash your hands and utensils about every 30 seconds or so to make things work smoothly. Assembly is a little tricky and requires patience; if you can tolerate that annoyance, the final product is worth it. This recipe makes about a dozen nice size pastries, however the dough and filling will keep in the fridge for up to three days, so you do not have to bake them all at once.

PASTRY
1 cup butter
1 tablespoon of dry active yeast
¼ cup warm water
¼ cup white sugar
3 eggs yolks
½ teaspoon salt
(1) small (5 ounce) can evaporated milk
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
Melt the butter and let it cool down to 110 degrees (should only feel good and warm to the touch, not hot). Dissolve yeast in ¼ cup warm water. Mix these two liquids together and add ¼ cup sugar, egg yolks, salt, evaporated milk, and flour. Mix well and cover with plastic wrap and chill in fridge at least 24 hours (or up to three days).

PASTRY FILLING
½ cup butter (room temperature)
1 + 1/3 cups unsifted powdered sugar
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
8 ounces (1 cup) almond paste
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 egg whites
¾ cup finely chopped almonds
Beat softened butter and powdered sugar until smooth. Add 2/3 cup flour and almond paste. Beat with electric mixer until crumbly and evenly mixed; add lemon zest and two egg whites. Beat until smooth. Stir in ¾ cup finely chopped almonds. Cover with plastic wrap and chill until firm (one to thee days).

ASSEMBLY
Put a nice thick layer of flour on your counter and rolling pin (this dough is STICKY, but you can dust any excess flour off later, with a pastry brush). Roll the dough out to a 20” x 12” rectangle, keeping the edges as straight as possible. Cut the dough (length-wise) into three sections, each about 4” wide.

Flour your counter and hands and roll the almond filling into three 20” “ropes” (the diameter of your thumb). Keep washing your hands because the filling is sticky too! Lay one of the “ropes” in the center of each 20” dough strip and flatten it just a little. Fold the dough over the “rope”, matching the other (cut) edge. Cut each filled 20” strip into 4” pastries (brush excess flour off with a pastry brush) and lay them on a parchment lined baking sheet. With a sharp knife, cut 3 slits in each pastry like this:

Sorry, I forgot to take a photo of this stage, forgive the crude drawing

Flour your knife so it does not stick to the dough and wipe it off often). Use the tip of the knife to separate the “claws” a little. Lightly beat the remaining egg white and brush over the bear claws. top with sliced almonds and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Let pastries raise for 45 minutes and then bake in preheated 375° oven for 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Makes about a dozen.

NOTE: I hope I have not scared you away from this recipe. It really is no harder than a simple piecrust, but I felt it only fair to warn you about the sticky dough.
NOTE: I put a simple glaze on some of the pastries and some I left plain. If you have trouble finding sanding sugar (it really adds a special shine and “finish” to baked goods), check Wal-Marts baking isle, near the sprinkles. They sell a Wiltons large grain transparent sprinkle that will work just as well.

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PINEAPPLE UPSIDE-DOWN CUPCAKES

These little pineapple upside-down cupcakes are super rich-gooey-yummy. They are easy enough for every-day eating and pretty enough for ANY holiday table. They are SO tasty (and portable) that they disappear very quickly. Recipe makes two dozen.

Spray your cupcake pans with vegetable spray. Line the bottoms of the cupcake pan with parchment (or wax paper) circles and spray lightly again. Preheat your oven to 350°.
TOPPING
6 tablespoons butter
1 cup brown sugar packed
2 tablespoons corn syrup
(1) 14 oz. can crushed pineapple (drained)
maraschino cherries quartered
Drain crushed pineapple completely (squeeze it as dry as you can). In a small saucepan, heat the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and drained pineapple until the sugar is dissolved (stirring constantly). Remove from heat and set aside. Drain and quarter a small jar of maraschino cherries. Put the quartered cherries in the bottoms of the cupcake pan. Pour topping over the cherries (dividing equally between the 24 cupcakes). Set aside.

CAKE
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon butter extract
2½ cups flour (spoon into cup, level off)
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt

Beat eggs and sugar until thick and lemon colored. Beat in oil, sour cream and extracts till smooth. Add dry ingredients and mix until smooth. Fill each cupcake cup 2/3 full. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until cake tests done. Cool pans on rack for 5 minutes. After five minutes, loosen sides of cupcakes with a thin knife and gently turn cupcake pans over onto parchment paper. Let the pan (and cupcakes) stay upside down for a few minutes. Lift pan off (see note).

NOTE: No matter how well you grease the pan, SOME of this fruit-sugar mixture will stick/stay in the pan. Don’t panic, just scoop it out and “frost” the bottom the inverted cupcakes.

 

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MUSHROOM & CHEESE STUFFED HAMBURGERS with HOMEMADE BUNS

Spring is here (even here in Alaska) and thoughts turn to outdoor barbeque's and camping. I’m always on the lookout for easy recipes that will “hold up” well in the cooler and Mushroom Stuffed Hamburgers is a good one. You can make the patties ahead of time and freeze them solid (which will help insure food safety while you travel.) Just throw these frozen patties on the grill and pair them with homemade hamburger buns (recipe follows) and you have a delicious cookout!

Can you tell that someone in my house loves mayo? LOL

(makes 4 hamburgers)
1 pound of lean ground beef
1 egg
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
¼ cup dry bread crumbs
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
¼ teaspoon black pepper
8 ounces of fresh mushrooms (sautéed)
favorite cheese

Each of these hamburgers is made out of two thin patties with mushrooms and cheese sandwiched in between. So mix everything (except the mushrooms & cheese) and make 8 thin patties. Top four of the patties with sautéed mushrooms and your favorite cheese and then a 2nd thin patty, pressing to seal the edges well. Repeat for the other three hamburgers.

If you are going to freeze these, wrap each one individually in plastic wrap and lay them flat on a cookie sheet to freeze. When they are frozen, you can stack them in a freezer Ziploc bag. Whether you are taking these on a camping trip or just leaving them in the freezer for a quick weeknight meal, they taste great.

HAMBURGER BUNS

This recipe will make at least 2 dozen hamburger buns. Once baked, they freeze extremely well. I find myself using them for everything from breakfast sandwiches to peanut butter sandwiches.
5 cups of all purpose flour
2 packets of dry active yeast (I use 2 tablespoons)
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon salt
2 ½ cups very warm water

In an electric stand mixer, place 2 cups of flour, yeast, sugar, oil and salt (stir to combine dry ingredients) Add 2 ½ cups of very warm water (see note). Stir quickly while you add the water. Let this mixture sit for about 10 minutes.

Add the rest of the flour, about ½ cup at a time, scraping the sides of your bowl and dough hook each time. Every time you stop your mixer, turn all of the dough mass over. Let your machine knead this dough until it CLEANLY comes away from the side of your mixer. If you have added all 5 cups of flour and it has not come cleanly away from your bowl, you need to add just a little more flour.

Once the dough comes cleanly away from the sides of your bowl, let the machine knead it for about five more minutes. Remove the dough and grease the bowl. Return the bread to the greased bowl and grease the top of the dough. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rise for an hour (it will more than double in volume).

Punch the air out of your dough and let it rest (covered) for 15-20 minutes. This step is important because your dough will “behave” much better while you form it, if you follow this step. Pinch off pieces of dough about the size of a tangerine. Make each ball as round as you can. Roll each ball into a 5” circle. Resist the temptation to add more dough to make a thicker bun. At this stage, your buns need to be a lot thinner than you think. (about ½” thick). If you add more dough, you are going to end up with a burger bun the size of your face!

Place the formed buns on a greased baking sheet and spritz the top of the dough with just a little cooking spray. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for about 45 minutes. Bake at 400° for 15-16 minutes.

If you are going to freeze these buns, let them cool completely first and freeze as soon as possible. About 4 to 5 minutes in a 350° oven will heat a frozen burger bun and make it taste like it was just baked.

This recipe also makes excellent sandwich bread

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APPLE TART

There is nothing quite as American as apple pie, isn’t that the old adage? I started experimenting with apple pie recipes many years ago because it is one of my husbands favorites. This recipe is pretty easy, as pies go; it has a no-roll shortbread type crust and you pre-cook the apples so they bake quicker. I like this recipe because it makes a pretty presentation and it is baked in a two piece tart pan, so you can just life the tart out of the pan and set it on a pretty serving plate.

CRUST
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup butter flavored Crisco
1½ teaspoons white sugar
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup ice water
1 egg
1½ teaspoons distilled white vinegar

With your electric stand mixer, mix the flour, Crisco, sugar and salt together. Add the ice water, vinegar and egg, beat just until smooth. Divide dough in half and pat one half into the two piece tart pan, pushing it up the sides, to the top of the pan, set in the fridge for a few minutes. Cover the other half of the dough while you do the apples.

APPLE FILLING
Peel and cube 5 granny smith apples. Boil them in some plain water for about 4 or 5 minutes until they just start to get tender, then drain well. To these apples, add:
½ cup of brown sugar
½ cup of white sugar
¼ cup of white flour
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
dash of salt
Stir gently until everything is wet, set aside.

Roll out the second half of the dough and cut into narrow strips. Put apple filling into tart crust and dot with 2 tablespoons of butter (tiny little dots). Lay the crust strips over the apples. Brush the strips with egg wash (1 egg beaten with a little water). Sprinkle strips with a light dusting of white sugar.

Bake in a pre-heated 375 oven for 40-45 minutes or until the crust strips are nice and golden. Let the pie cook to room temperature before you try to remove it from the two piece tart pan.

NOTE: You do not HAVE to pre-cook the apples, but if you do it this way, you will not get a soggy crust, or have any loose (watery) pie filling.
NOTE: If you do not want to do the whole roll out strips on top of the pie, just mix the following ingredients and sprinkle it on top of the apples and bake the same way.

APPLE CRISP TOPPING (ALTERNATIVE)
¾ cup brown sugar
½ cup all purpose flour
½ cup quick cooking oats
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
1/3 cup butter softened

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CHEESY FOCACCIA

This is the easiest bread I have ever made. It is FULL of flavor and is soft and chewy with a delicious cheesy surface. Whether you use it to sop up a great sauce…or slice it for a sandwich, this recipe is a winner. The smell of it baking will bring your family running to the table.
2 ¾ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon dry active yeast
1 clove garlic minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried basil
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoon olive oil (divided)
1 cup warm milk
1 tablespoon parmesan cheese
1 cup mozzarella shredded
1 teaspoon dried rosemary

Mix first 9 ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix in warm milk and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Mix well and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic (it will take just a couple minutes). Cover with plastic wrap and let this sit in a warm place for about 45 minutes. Punch down and place on a greased baking sheet. Pat dough out into a rectangle about ½” thick. Brush top with remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with rosemary, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let this sit for about 30 minutes. With 2 fingers, make dents every few inches over surface of focaccia. Bake at 450° for 15 minutes or until golden. Remove to a rack.

This hearty bread also makes an excellent sandwich.

Make sure you pop over to Tried and True Cooking With Heidi
She is giving away a prize to celebrate her 100th post.

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BACON WRAPPED SHRIMP

Your guests will never guess how simple these shrimp are to make and YOU will be amazed how quickly they disappear; they are an absolutely delicious hors d’oeuvre.

(1) 16 ounce bag of frozen 16-20 count RAW shrimp (see note)
1 pound of smoked bacon (not the thick kind)
1 cup of your favorite barbeque sauce

In our Fred Meyer store, these shrimp are sold frozen (near the meat case). The one pound package says they are 16-20 count “Wild Caught” with shell on and heads off. Let them thaw in your fridge overnight. The next day, remove the shell (leave tails on). With a small sharp knife, make a shallow cut down the back of the shrimp and rinse out any “vein” you see there. Drain the shrimp on a paper towel and sit in fridge for a few minutes while you prepare the bacon.

If you use the 16-20 count shrimp (16 to 20 shrimp per pound), it will take a whole slice of bacon per shrimp. Make sure you use regular cut bacon (not thick sliced). Partially cook it, to remove some of the fat, but don’t let it get crispy (drain on paper towels). It should look like this:

Wrap the partially cooked bacon around the raw shrimp. Starting at the wide end of the shrimp, attach the bacon to the shrimp with a toothpick. Wind the bacon around (in a single thickness) and all the way down to the tail and secure it with another toothpick like this:
Baste the shrimp on both sides with your favorite barbeque sauce (I recommend Sweet Baby Ray’s barbeque sauce). Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for two hours.

Line a large baking sheet with foil (to help with cleanup) and put a baking rack on the foil (spray the rack with cooking spray). Place the shrimp on the rack and bake in a PREHEATED 450° oven for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, TURN OFF THE OVEN (do not open the door) and let the shrimp sit in the hot oven for another five minutes. Remove the toothpicks and enjoy!

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PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

This glass cookie jar has been on my kitchen counter for the last 20 years. At least 75% of that time, it had peanut butter cookies in it. Our standard comment (“the kids like peanut butter cookies”) was obviously just an excuse, because the kids are all grown (with families of their own) and the jar is STILL full of peanut butter cookies. Needless to say, I don’t even look the recipe up anymore…I think I could make these cookies in my sleep.

Preheat oven to 375° Bake on un-greased cookie sheet
In large mixing bowl with electric mixer, beat until smooth:
1 cup butter flavored Crisco
1 cup peanut butter
2 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
Once the above mixture is smooth, add 2 ½ cups flour, 1½ teaspoons baking soda and ½ teaspoon salt. Mix well. Cookie dough should be moist and hold together easily when you squeeze a hand full. If it seems a little dry or crumbly, add a couple tablespoons of water.
Roll the dough into balls about the size of walnuts, and then roll the balls in granulated sugar. Place on UN-greased baking sheet and flatten with fork tines in criss-cross pattern. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 375°; cool on parchment paper.
NOTE: Cooking time depends on how large you make these cookies. Dough balls about the size of a walnut, bake for 11 minutes in my oven.
NOTE: The original recipe called for butter (instead of the Butter Flavored Crisco). The Butter Flavored Crisco makes a much lighter & crispier cookie than butter (and still provides the buttery taste).

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HUNGARIAN GOULASH + HOMEMADE PASTA

This is MY kind of comfort food…slow simmered beef until it is fork tender, in a rich, full-bodied gravy and served over homemade noodles; it does not get much better than that. If you make this on the stovetop, it is done in about 2½ hours, at most. If you cook it in the crockpot, it takes about 8 hours on low.

2 pounds of chuck roast
1 medium onion diced
1 clove garlic minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 ½ cups beef broth (not bullion)
¾ cup ketchup
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons paprika (not the hot kind)
½ teaspoon dry mustard
healthy pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper

Trim all of the white fat parts from a 2 pound chuck roast and cut it into one inch cubes. Brown the meat, onion and garlic in the olive oil. Drain any excess fat.

Add the rest of the ingredients and heat to boiling. Stir well and reduce heat to a very gentle simmer. Cover and simmer until fork tender (about 1 ½ to 2 hours depending on how tough the meat is). While this is simmering, make the noodles.

PASTA FOR FOUR

I made the dough for this in my kitchen aid (with paddle attachment). I made this before I got my new pasta roller, so it is a little irregular, but it still tasted great.

2 eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons olive oil

I just put the wet ingredients in first, mixed for a couple seconds, then put in the dry ingredients and mixed until it turned into a nice soft dough. Depending on the moisture content of your flour, you might have to add or subtract a tablespoon of water to get the right consistency (so don’t add all of the water at once). Knead the dough by hand for five minutes (or by machine for 3 minutes).The dough should be smooth, elastic and a just a little tacky to the touch.

Wrap the dough in plastic and let it sit (at room temperature) for 20 minutes…this is the most important step. If you skip this step, the dough will not roll out right and will try to spring back on you. If you let it sit for 20 minutes, it will roll out much easier.

Flour your counter and roll the dough out as thin as you can get it (it is a very forgiving dough and will not crack or tear like piecrust). Keep in mind that when you cook the noodles, they expand, so whatever thickness you roll them out to…your final product will be almost twice as thick! Cut the noodles in thin strips and air dry for an hour or so (I dried my noodles on a baking rack).To cook, bring a big pot of salted water to a boil (I added a tablespoon olive oil to the water) and cook the pasta for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. When it starts to float, it is very close to being done; remove a piece and taste it for doneness.

BACK TO GOULASH

When the noodles are almost done, and the meat is ultra-tender, turn up the heat under the meat and thicken the sauce with a flour-water slurry (¼ cup water + 2 tablespoons flour shaken in a jar). Stir vigorously while adding the slurry to the sauce and cook until thick, remove from heat. Serve goulash over cooked noodles.
NOTE: The first hour that the goulash cooks, the aroma will be strong, but never fear…the second hour, something magical happens and it all mellows out and becomes delicious.

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TACO FILLING

I often look at the packets of dry seasoning and gravy mixes, at the grocery store, and wonder what is in them besides the main ingredient which seems to be salt. I see young cooks buying packets of taco seasoning mix and I have to resist the urge to tell them “save your money…you probably have the necessary ingredients at home already!”

This is a good, basic, kid friendly recipe for beef taco filling because it is more flavorful than spicy; I’ve used this recipe for many years. If you like more “heat”, just add some (seeded and diced) jalapeño peppers. Personally, I like more heat than my husband (who thinks black pepper is too spicy LOL), so instead of bumping up the seasoning in the whole recipe, I just add some pepperjack cheese to MY taco.

1 pound lean ground beef
2/3 cup chopped sweet onion
3 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon regular paprika (not the hot kind)
pinch garlic powder
pinch of dried red pepper flakes (or to taste)
½ cup water
(1) 4 ounce can of Ortega chopped mild green chiles

Brown the ground beef and onions, then drain well. Return meat to pan and add everything else. Simmer for about 15 minutes, using your spatula to chop the burger into fine pieces as it cooks. The water will help disperse the seasonings and then it will cook away. Turn heat down and keep warm until ready to use.

NOTE: If have an unexpected guest or two, just add some refried beans to the meat and mix well.

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HONEY-WHOLE WHEAT-OATMEAL PANCAKES

JUST IN TIME FOR SUNDAY BREAKFAST!

These pancakes have a wonderful honey-whole wheat flavor that you are not going to get out of an instant "white bread" pancake mix. This batter mixes up in just a couple of minutes, using every day ingredients. I hope you try them.

1 egg
½ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup quick cooking oats
¼ cup white flour
¾ cup milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon honey
3 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
In medium size bowl, whisk the egg until it is lemon colored & a little foamy; whisk in the milk, oil and honey (*see note). Add the flour, oats, baking powder and salt; whisk just until everything is well mixed (don‘t over whisk). Let batter sit for about 5 minutes before cooking.
NOTE: Use a scant 1/3 cup of batter for each pancake.
NOTE: The honey will want to “stay together” and sit on the bottom of your bowl, so make sure you completely mix it into the milk BEFORE you add the flour and oats (that way you won’t over mix the batter).
NOTE: I find that pancakes cook best on a pan that has been sprayed liberally with vegetable spray and then wiped out with a paper towel.
NOTE: You can add ½ cup raisins to this batter if you like raisins. Plump raisins by pouring a little boiling water over them in a small dish and let them sit for 15 minutes then drain well and add to batter.

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MAPLE-WALNUT MINI MUFFINS

The combination of maple and walnut just seem to go together in this sweet, moist mini-muffin. They are perfect with a hot cup of tea or if you are on the go. The muffins have a sweet maple syrup glaze on the top.
1 cup light brown sugar
½ cup flour
2 eggs
2/3 cup soft butter
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon maple extract
1 cup chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour a mini muffin pan (or spray with a cooking spray that has flour, like Bakers Joy). Mix the wet ingredients in a medium size bowl and then stir in the dry ingredients, its just that simple. Mix long enough to just get the batter smooth. Make sure you use the MINI muffin pans (not cupcake size). Fill cups with one tablespoon batter each (makes 24). Top each one with a piece of walnut. Bake for 17 minutes.
NOTE: Dusting pan with flour is important.
NOTE: My oven cooked these little gems in 16 minutes
NOTE: Let these muffins cool for five minutes, then use a thin bladed knife to help you gently lift the muffins out onto a cooling rack. Don’t let these cool in the pan because they won’t come out.
NOTE: If you keep these muffins covered, they will stay soft. If you like a more chewy cookie type muffin, don’t cover them.
NOTE: Glaze the tops of the cooled muffins with the following mixture: ¼ cup real maple syrup + 1 tablespoon corn syrup boiled together for about 30 seconds.

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