Coconut Pudding

It was amazing last night.

So good. 

So I guess I'll stop dawdling and type the recipe for ya.

Simple Coconut Pudding

2 cups coconut milk

1 cup milk

6 TBSP sugar

5 TBSP cornstarch

1/4 tsp vanilla

Heat the milk on medium-low. Combine the dry ingredients. Mix into heated milk...Keep it heating on low till thickened. Serve hot or chilled. :) You can add chocolate chips to it, like Anna did to one batch, and do another of just plain coconut pudding . . . toast some coconut chips like Anna did, and arrange and serve however you want:)

Original post here.

Chocolate Pecan Scones

Sorry to torture anyone.

*gasp* Alright, you can tell it's a beautiful day, right?--the blue sky is reflected in the glossy, warm, un-ordinary chocolate-coffee sauce. Mmmm:)

It's the perfect scone.

It was . . . amazing, that first bite. And all the ones that followed, till the whole, delicious, chocolate-coffee drizzled thing was fully consumed.

Yep, you can kinda tell we use whole-wheat flour, but gosh it turns out awesome either way.

Now, the dear Leanna was the wonderful lady to post this recipe first of all, and I am so glad, because the world has been made a better place. One of these on the plate in front of you, still warm, and world peace is possible.

So... thank you, Leanna. 

*sighs again*

Now, listen. I never sigh over food, do I? So go on and copy this down and scoot your booty into that kitchen and make 'em. 

Hop over here to get the recipe... You know you want it. ;)

 

Original post here

Lentil Stew

It comes in handy to have a camera and use it amidst those normal everyday adventures. 

Like cooking.

Lentils are generally not my forte, but in this case, vegan suits me just fine for one meal. (huge smile and waves to all the vegan lovelies out there)

There are two lentil recipes we have tried for our family, and this one is the best so far.

First of all: lentils. This time we had green ones, a good bit in bulk --haha, 5lbs.

I used 4 cups of water and 2 cups of these. But that's a meal and a half for a family of 9.

So maybe...split it in half, and you can freeze what you don't eat.

Then....ya want probably 6 peppers, all diced up. That's for our regular recipe, once again.

It's not that hard to halve it in your head, is it?

'Kay. Just checking. I mean, I don't like math either, but this isn't that difficult;)

Here's the recipe. That's Anna's handwriting and commands this time.

So. That's about 6 carrots, medium to large size. I sliced them longways into quarters, then chopped them like normal. Ya wanna let them mingle in some olive oil with those peppers.

Oh, yes, and don't forget a nice-sized onion, too. Dice that thing up.

Okey-dokey. Then, two things of chicken broth (or, probably any of your favorite broth would work) ...32oz each, these are.

Alright now...this is what it'll look like after a while steaming together. Make sure you salt this stuff enough, otherwise you'll just taste.....lentils. Ew. (laughs)

Pour in your lentils.

And yes. Your whole 64 ounces of broth gets poured in right about now, too.
Again, do the math for yourself.

Now before you turn the burner up to medium-high and leave it alone, pour these in. :)

Now you can turn up the heat...but don't completely forget about it:)

Now, toast your bread, a piece or two for everyone, and if you do it right, it might turn out half as well, good-lookin' and yummy as mine:

(Psh, don't trip over my sarcasm, I'm just kidding. Not that conceited about my culinary creations.)

Mmmmmm. Now, let me tell you. It tastes as good as it looks, if not better (well, depending on your train of thought, alright?;)

 Original post here

Potato Broccoli Curry

Take a few/several bunches of broccoli, chopped in bite-sized little-tiny bunches, and steam them in a pan. I did 'em in a drizzle of olive oil with a bit of water. 

Next, dice up some cooked potatoes. If you want to, peel them. We don't have picky eaters, so I left the skins on. Then...throw those potaters in with the broccoli, IN a big pot. Then sprinkle curry powder over that, don't worry, it takes quite a bit to actually taste the flavor, and let me tell you. Don't let the look of this fool you. It's good. Add a sprinkle of cayenne pepper, too. When Rachel walked in the kitchen and heard what I was making, she made a gross face. But she ended up sneaking bites later, ya know? 

*sigh* What can I say. It turned out good. 

Then after the curry powder, while the stove is still warming it all, salt it good...and pour in one can of coconut milk. It's amazing. You don't even taste the coconut milk. It's funny. But that's what I looooove about curries. At least, the ones we've made so far;)

Link for the original post.

Chocolate Oreo Cheesecake

This is my favorite cheesecake.  Probably my favorite dessert too.  This is what I had for my birthday a few weeks ago.  It was originally a Taste of Home recipe.  They have some great recipes.
I had fun baking and taking pictures with my new camera.  If you like chocolate, Oreos, and cheesecake, you really should try this recipe!

Ingredients:
2-1/4 cups Oreo cookies (about 24 Oreos
4 Tablespoons and 2 teaspoons butter, melted
4 8-oz. packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1-1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
4 eggs, lightly beaten
16 Oreos, coarsely chopped
whipped cream, optional

In a gallon zip-lock bag smash 24 Oreos until finely crushed.  In a mixing bowl, combine with melted butter.  Firmly pack mixture into a 10 inch spring-form pan.  Chill in freezer for several hours, until firm.

Preheat oven to 325° F.

In a small sauce pan melt chocolate chips, set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth.  Beat in chocolate and vanilla.  Add eggs; beat on low speed until just combined.  Fold in half of the cookies.  Pour batter over crust.
Sprinkle with remaining cookies.  

Place pan on baking sheet.

Bake at 325° F. for 50-60 minutes until center is almost set, and top appears dull.  Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.  Carefully run a knife around the edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer before removing pan sides.  Refrigerate overnight before serving.  Yield: 12 servings

Garnish with whipping cream, if desired.

  

Avocado Sauce

Chicken Corn Chowder

Peanut Butter Bread

Meatball Subs

These are an easy, delicious meal using leftover meatballs and spaghetti sauce.

Peanut butter fudge

My friend, Lauren, and I made this delicious fudge just the other day.  We enjoyed working together to make it, and take pictures of the process!  

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup milk

1/2 cup butter

1 (7 oz.) jar marshmallow creme

14 oz peanut butter

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

Optional

2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

1 Tablespoon shortening

Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish, set aside.

In a saucepan, combine sugar, milk, and butter.  Bring to a boil, and cook 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat.  Stir in the marshmallow creme and peanut butter.  Gradually stir in the flour.  Pour into prepared dish, and let cool.

  If chocolate is desired:  

In a small saucepan melt shortening and chocolate over medium-low heat, just until smooth.  Pour on top of cooled fudge.  

Cut fudge into 1 inch squares.

Store in the refrigerator.  Serve chilled.

Hashbrown Casserole

Ingredients:

1 pound shredded hashbrowns, thawed

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/8 cup onion, finely chopped

1 cup shredded cheese, cheddar or colby-jack

1 can (15 oz.) cream of chicken soup

Preheat oven to 350° F.
In a large mixing bowl combine all ingredients.  Stir until well combined.

Grease a glass baking dish.  One batch will fit nicely in a 8x8 pan, but a 13x9 dish will work too, the casserole will just be thinner, and may require less baking time.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, stirring once or twice.
The hashbrowns should be completely cooked, very soft, and the edges of the casserole should be slightly browned.

Chips and dip!

Today we had a tea party.  We had a ripe avocado so I decided to make some dip.  I had a great idea to use the skin as the dish to hold the dip!  (I think I watched too many cooking shows!  lol)  But it worked great!

I sliced the avocado length wise, and took out the pit.  I used a spoon to scoop out all the fleshy part.  I mixed up the fleshy part with a little garlic salt, ground red pepper, and paprika till it was creamy.  

In the smaller end of the skin I placed several Tablespoons of sour cream.  (Filling not quite a third of the skin.)

Next I filled a little less than a third more of the skin with salsa.

Last I put the mixed up avocado in the end of the skin.  I dusted the top with red pepper and paprika, and served with corn tortilla chips!  Delicious!!!

Ciabatta

I've never eaten nor baked this type of bread before, but I thought it would be fun to give it a try.  Ciabatta is an Italian bread. I think it is pronounced, Chee-bot-ta or Chuh-bot-ta.  

The starter, or sponge, for this bread must be made at least 12 hours, but no more than 24 hours in advance.  So I made the sponge last night and then mixed up the dough in the later morning today.  

Step 1:  Making the starter, or sponge.  In a small bowl mix together 1/8 teaspoon dry active yeast and 2 Tablespoons warm (110 F.) water.  Stir, then let mixture sit for 5 minutes.  The mixture should be creamy looking, the yeast will have dissolved, but it won't be bubbly.  Add 1 cup of flour and 1/3 cup warm water to this mixture.  Stir for 4 minutes.  Cover with plastic wrap.  Let the mixture sit on the counter for at least 12 hours, but no longer than 24 hours.

Step 2:  In a small bowl heat 2 Tablespoons milk to 110 F.  Mix 1/2 teaspoon yeast into the milk.  Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes.

In a stand mixer ( I used our Bosch mixer) mix together sponge (starter), the milk/yeast mixture, 2 cups flour Tablespoon olive oil, and 2/3 cup warm water.  Mix just until flour is mixed in.  Add 1-1/2 teaspoon salt.  Mix for 8 minutes.  

Step 3:  Transfer dough to an oiled, glass measuring bowl. (To oil it rub the bottom and sides with olive oil, this helps the dough come out later)  Set dough in a warm place, cover with a towel.  Wait 1-1/2 to 2 hours, until dough has doubled.  

(I guess it was too cold in my kitchen so my dough wasn't rising.  I turned the oven on to a low temp. then put the dough on top of the stove.  I let it rise just a little too long so it was a little more than doubled, but I think thats fine.)

Step 4:  Divide dough in half, place each half on a piece of parchment paper that is about 12" by 6".  (We didn't have any parchment paper, so  I tried putting one loaf on foil, and the other on a greased baking sheet.   The one on the baking sheet didn't slide onto the hot pan very well.  :(  Kinda crumpled up.)

Step 5: Let the loaves rise until doubled, or about an hour.  Place baking stone in oven, and preheat to 425 F.  (We don't have a baking stone so I used a large flat cast iron pan.)  The stone (or pan) should be hot when the dough is placed on it.  Slide the dough carefully onto the stone (or pan).  Bake for about 20 minutes until nicely browned.  Cool slightly before cutting.

Ingredients:

(Sponge)

1/8 teaspoon active dry yeast

2 Tablespoons warm water (110 F.)

1/3 cup warm water (110 F.)

1 cup flour

(Other ingredients)

1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast

2 Tablespoons warm milk (110 F.)

2/3 cup warm water

2 cups flour

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1-1/2 teaspoons salt