chickensense

I’m cooking today, literally!  I went shopping yesterday after dropping Jesse a school so I was at the store at 8:00 a.m.  Never having shopped that early I was surprised to find different kinds of meat on sale because they were almost at the expiration (use or freeze before …) date.  I found a beef rump roast, large package of cube steaks, and 5 lbs of ground beef all of them from $2 to $4 off the normal price. I am excited to have gotten such good deals, but now I’ve got to cook them all, ASAP.

I’ve never cooked a rump roast before so I searched out recipes online. I found a luscious recipe with the rather in-elegant name of “Roast Beef in Crockpot.”  (See below.) This morning the house smelled so good from the meat cooking all night. When I got up, I just poured it all into a large bowl, let it cool, and put it in the refrigerator for dinner tonight.

This morning I cut up half the cube steaks to use in “English Beef Pot Pie.” (Recipe below.) It’s cooking in the crock pot right now. This will be tomorrow’s dinner. I’ve still got half the cube steaks to do something with. I’m not sure what yet…

Finally, I have to deal with the 5 lbs of ground beef. I’ll use half for meatloaf (see “Seasoned Ground Beef” recipe below), and fry some up to freeze in Ziploc bags to be ready for any recipe calling for cooked ground beef, and make some into meatballs.

That’s enough cooking for a while!

                        Roast Beef in Crockpot

-= Ingredients =-
3 medium potatoes
2 large carrots
1 onion ; sliced (or chopped)             (I omitted this)
1 (2-3 lb.) boneless beef rump roast
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 can cream of mushroom soup

-= Instructions =-
Put vegetables in bottom of stoneware. 

Salt & pepper meat, then place in pot on top of vegetables. 

Add liquid. 

Cover and cook on LOW 10-12 hours. (HIGH: 5-6 hours.)

                         English Beef Pot Pie

-= Ingredients =-
2 pounds beef round steak ; cut into 1" cubes
3 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
2 medium carrots ; pared, sliced
3 medium potatoes ; peeled, sliced
1 large onion ; thinly sliced
1 can whole tomatoes - (16 oz)

 
~~ === BISCUIT TOPPING === ~~
2 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup shortening
1 teaspoon salt
3 cup milk

-= Instructions =-
Place steak cubes in crock pot.  Combine flour, salt, and pepper; toss with steak to coat thoroughly.  Stir in remaining ingredients except Biscuit Topping and mix thoroughly.  Cover and cook on LOW setting for 8 to 10 hours.

One hour before serving, remove meat and vegetables from crock pot and pour into shallow 2 1/2-quart baking dish.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Cover meat mixture with Biscuit Topping.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Biscuit Topping:  Mix dry ingredients.  Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.  Add milk all at one time; stir well.  Pat out on floured board; roll out to cover baking dish.

                         Seasoned Ground Beef

Recipe By: Betty Crocker Cookbook c1986 (modified)

-= Ingredients =-
5 pounds ground beef
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
2 egg
1 1/2 cups milk
3 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
3 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
3/4 teaspoon pepper
3/4 teaspoon sage
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

-= Instructions =-
This will prepare enough for a few different meals. Mix all the ingredients in a very large bowl.

For meatloaf, spread 1/3  the meat mixture in a loaf pan. Spoon the ketchup over the top. Bake uncovered in 350 degree oven for 1 to 1-1/2 hours. Remove from pan, wrap in foil, label, and freeze until needed.

For meatballs, add spaghetti sauce if desired; shape 1/3 of the mixture into meatballs; place on cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Cook until done (It will depend on the size of the meatballs.). Let cool. Freeze for 2 hours on cookie sheet. Place the meatballs in Ziploc bags and freeze until needed.

For hamburgers, shape 1/3 of the mixture into patties. Place on cookie sheet, not touching each other and freeze for 2 hours.  Wrap patties individually in plastic wrap or foil and place in ziplock bag. Freeze until needed.

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I love cookie cutters. Over the years I’ve collected quite a few including a roller skate, a musical note, and an umbrella.

Today we’re making Halloween sugar cookies. I didn’t want to wait while the dough chilled, and I didn’t have any shortening either, so I tried a different recipe. I like this recipe because it is simple, but the cookies did come out dry. They definitely need frosting, but Jesse didn’t want to wait and is gobbling them down.

Sugar Cookies - Wilton Recipe

With no chilling time necessary, these cookies can be made quickly.

-= Ingredients =-
1 cup Butter ; room temperature
1 cup Sugar
—————————–
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 ea Egg
—————————–
3 cups Flour ; sifted
2 teaspoon Baking powder

-= Instructions =-
Preheat oven to 400.  In a large mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar until well combined.  Beat in vanilla and egg.

Sift flour and baking soda together.  Add to creamed mixture, one cup at a time, mixing after each addition.

Dough will be very stiff.

DO NOT CHILL DOUGH!

Divide dough in half.  On floured surface, roll dough about  to 1/8 thick.  Dip cutters in flour before each use.  Bake cookies on ungreased cookie sheet on top rack of oven for 6-7 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Makes 2-3 dozen cookies.

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Today I found 2 pints of blueberries that had apparently gotten lost in the refrigerator for more than 2 weeks. They looked a little shriveled but they tasted ok so I thought I’d try them in a new muffin recipe and see what happens.

The muffins are delicious! I love blueberry muffins and this is the first recipe I’ve found that I’d say is good. Yum!

                  Blueberry Muffins (Betty Crocker)

-= Ingredients =-

1 3/4 cups Flour
1/4 cup Sugar
2 tablespoons Sugar
2 teaspoons Baking powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 Egg; beaten
3/4 cup Milk
1/3 cup Cooking oil
3/4 cup Fresh or frozen blueberries

-= Instructions =-

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.   

In a large mixing bowl stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and  salt. Make a well in the center.

Combine egg, milk, and oil. Add egg  mixture all at once to flour mixture.

Add blueberries and stir just till  moistened; batter should be lumpy.

Grease muffin cups or line with paper  bake cups; fill 2/3 full.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or till golden. Remove  from pans; serve warm.

Makes 10-12 muffins

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We made goat milk ice cream once but we weren’t too happy with the results. I don’t remember the recipe I used (sorry), but knowing me it would have been something extremely simple with few ingredients.  We don’t have any goat milk right now so I can’t test this out for you, but mississippisnowdog, from the Off Grid Living and Homesteading Yahoo group, has developed her own recipe (below) and she told me it is very good. You can also find a more complicated goat milk ice cream recipe here: www.countrysidemag.com.

If you make these recipes, come back and leave a comment letting us know how it went and whether you liked it enough to do again.

(Don’t have an ice cream maker? No problem, check out the truly hand made ice cream recipes on our web site: http://www.chickensense.com/icecream.asp)

Goat Milk Ice Cream

“I make goat milk ice cream at least twice a week and we love it. I didn’t want to make it too fattening, so I had to figure out a way to do it without adding extra cream. Here’s what I came up with.”

5 1/2 cups goat milk
2 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
flavor, about 1 teaspoon (vanilla extract, mint, etc.)

Heat 5 cups of the milk until it looks like it has a skin on top that is cracking. Stir the cornstarch into the remaining 1/2 cup milk until dissolved. Add to heated milk. Add sugar. Heat at a low to medium temperature until it coats the spoon. Keep stirring or it will scorch. (Might be better to do this in a double boiler.)  Add your flavoring (vanilla extract, mint, etc.) and pour into your ice cream maker.

Mix and freeze, following your ice cream machine’s instructions, until done. Transfer the ice cream into a chilled container. After putting in the freezer (your refrigerator’s freezer), be sure to stir it in about an hour or it will get hard and impossible to scoop. Depending on the type, you might need to stir it again at two hours.

Variations–

For mint chocolate chip, use mint extract and grate two regular size Hershey bars (or peel with a potato peeler). Put the grated chocolate in the freezer till hard, crunch into smaller pieces, and add to ice cream when almost done churning.

For chocolate– eliminate sugar. Add a king size Hershey bar to the mix after removing from heat. Stir until melted.

For fruit flavors (peach and strawberry) add 1 cup chopped fruit when the ice cream is almost done churning.

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Fantastic! These both came out so delicious!

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

Recipe By: www.grouprecipes.com

-= Ingredients =-

• 2 Tilapia Fillets
• 1/2 cup Bread crumbs ; plain or seasoned
• 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
• 1 Egg
• 2 pats Butter
• Cooking spray

-= Instructions =-

1. Make egg wash.
2. In shallow dish, combine crumbs and cheese.
3. Dip fillets into egg and then into crumbs.
4. Spray pan with cooking spray.
5. Place fillets in pan and top with butter.
6. Bake 425 degrees until fish is flakey.

Skillet Glazed Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are cooked in the skillet with brown sugar and butter.

Recipe By: By Diana Rattray, About.com
Serving Size: 4

-= Ingredients =-

• 1/2 cup Brown sugar
• 1/3 cup Water
• 1 tablespoon Butter
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 3 medium Sweet Potatoes (I used canned sweet potatoes)

-= Instructions =-

In a heavy skillet, combine brown sugar, water, butter, and salt. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add sliced sweet potatoes. Simmer for 10 minutes, turning frequently.

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In the past I’ve written of my Easy Canned Beans method using a pressure canner, but I found a just-as-simple way to ‘can’ beans for your freezer without a pressure canner at www.Menus4Mom.com.

I signed up for Menu4Mom’s FREE weekly menu email: Basic Weekly Menu. I got so excited when I found the site, but I soon found that they try to charge you for practically everything. (I’ll save my ranting on that subject for another post.)

Below are the instructions. Enjoy! (free of charge, of course.)

Menus 4 Moms

Dried beans We regularly cook a bag of dried beans and freeze the beans in their own juice to use in place of canned beans. Dried beans are easy to cook and can be done in a slow cooker. They are far less expensive that canned beans. If you do not have any beans in your freezer and would like to stock up, use this recipe: * 1 bag dried beans (black, pinto, kidney, etc.) * water Rinse beans in a colander and check to be sure there are no stones or other debris. Place beans in a dutch oven and cover with water so that the water is twice as deep as the beans. Overnight soak: Leave beans in water overnight. Quick soak: Heat to boiling and boil for 2 minutes. Turn heat off and cover, let sit for 1 hour. Drain beans in colander and rinse pot. Place beans in slow cooker and cover with water, making sure the water is twice as deep as the beans. Cook on Hi for 5 hours or Low for 8-10 hours. Drain beans, reserving liquid (place colander on a lg. pan or bowl then pour beans in). Separate beans into 2 cup servings in freezer bags. Cover beans in each bag with some of reserved liquid.

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It’s been a very long time since I’ve made meatloaf. I’m not sure why, since we all love my recipe. I guess because it is so messy to make, and I usually freeze my hands while mashing it all together.

Tonight, though, I made meatloaf. I’ve learned some things to watch for: get the pan out and prepared, and all the ingredients out before you start, otherwise you’ll smear hamburger all over you cabinet handles.

I thought I’d get clever today and try to save washing a large bowl. I added all the ingredients right inside the plastic tray the hamburger comes in. It seemed like a good idea, but in reality it was a bit small so hamburger kept spilling out as I mixed. Still it was nice to be able to just dump the tray in the garbage when I was done.

(These meat trays are actually very handy. I run them through the dishwasher, then reuse them for all sorts of things. They are just the right size to hold 9 jiffy pellets for planting seeds. I also sometimes punch some holes in the bottom and use them as seed starting trays. I’ve even used them for storing messy leftovers. Once the food is gone there is no bowl to wash.)

                      -= Exported from BigOven =-

                              Meat Loaf

Based on Recipe from Betty Crocker Cookbook c1986
Serving Size: 6

-= Ingredients =-
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon sage
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup ketchup

-= Instructions =-
Mix all the ingredients except the ketchup. Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray. Spread the meat mixture in the loaf pan. Spoon the ketchup over the top. Bake uncovered in 350 degree oven for 1 to 1 1/4 hours.

** This recipe can be pasted into BigOven without retyping.     **
** Easy recipe software.  Try it free at: http://www.bigoven.com    **

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I have had lots of trouble over the years getting loaves that aren’t “gummy” inside when using my bread-machine. I’ve written before of my joy when I found I had over-looked the “super rapid” setting on my machine while accidentally using recipes intended for “super rapid.”  Pressing that magic button at the right time helped immensely, but all loaves were still at least a little gummy in the middle (usually more than a little).

I finally found, from several sites online, that bread that is undercooked and gummy inside is bread that didn’t rise sufficiently. After some experimenting, I found a couple of things I had been doing wrong:

1. I use all-purpose flour instead of bread flour, which doesn’t rise as well because it has less gluten and because of some chemicals they add to the bread flour (see note).
   

   fix: compensate by using 1 tablespoon vital gluten per cup of flour

2. I keep my whole wheat flour in the freezer so it is very cold when I add it to the ingredients, which I’ve realized hinders the action of the yeast.
   

   fix: set the timer to begin the bread in 1 hour to give the wheat time to get room temperature

3. For recipes that have any whole wheat flour at all, I wasn’t using the “whole wheat” setting, which allows extra rising time. (I thought they meant to use that only for 100% whole wheat bread. Oops.)
   

   fix: always use the whole wheat setting if there is any whole wheat flour in the recipe

I am now always careful to use vital gluten (available in the flour section of your super-market), especially with wheat flour; I always set the delay-timer to allow whole wheat flour to come to room temperature before mixing begins; and I am more careful to use the proper buttons on my machine: whole wheat if there is any whole wheat flour in the recipe, and super-rapid if I have used a super-rapid recipe.

(If you don’t have any vital gluten but want to use all-purpose flour in a recipe for white bread, you can compensate for the poor rising attributes of the flour by setting the machine to the whole wheat setting. This setting allows extra rising time, which is what all-purpose flour needs.)

Hopefully now my bread will continue to come out as nice as the last few loaves have. No more anticipating and salivating only to have to loaf come out as an inedible gummy mess.

(The photo is of the honey wheat bread I made tonight.)

My Honey Whole Wheat Bread (2 Lb Loaf)

(Based on a recipe from my Gold Medal flour bread machine recipe booklet)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/3 cup honey
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 4 or 5 tablespoons vital gluten
• 2 tablespoons butter (or shortening), chopped
• 2 tablespoons dry milk
• 1 teaspoon yeast

Instructions:

Place all the ingredients in the order above into the bread machine pan. I put half the vital gluten after the all-purpose flour, and half after the whole wheat flour, which I hope helps it to incorporate better.

Use the 2 lb Whole Wheat setting on your bread machine. If your flour is frozen or refrigerated set the timer to start in an hour to allow the ingredients time to reach room temperature before they come in contact with the yeast.

When finished remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack. To more easily slice bread, use a serrated knife and a gentle back and forth sawing motion.

NOTE: Bread flour is a high-gluten flour that has very small amounts of malted barley flour and vitamin C or potassium bromate added. The barley flour helps the yeast work, and the other additive increases the elasticity of the gluten and its ability to retain gas as the dough rises and bakes.

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Amazing Health Research

From www.wholefoods.com

Cantaloupe is an excellent source of vitamin A on account of its concentrated beta-carotene content. Once inside the body, beta-carotene can be converted into vitamin A, so when you eat cantaloupe it’s like getting both these beneficial nutrients at once. One cup of cantaloupe is just 56 calories, but provides 103.2% of the daily value for vitamin A. Both vitamin A and beta-carotene are important vision nutrients. In a study of over 50,000 women nurses aged 45 to 67, women who consumed the highest dietary amount of vitamin A had a 39% reduced risk of developing cataracts. In another study that looked at the incidence of cataract surgery and diet, researchers found that those people who ate diets that included cantaloupe had half the risk of cataract surgery, while those who ate the highest amounts of butter, salt and total fat had higher risks for cataract surgery. Beta-carotene has also been the subject of extensive research in relationship to cancer prevention and prevention of oxygen-based damage to cells.

More from www.wholefoods.com

While studying the relationship between vitamin A, lung inflammation, and emphysema, Richard Baybutt, associate professor of nutrition at Kansas State, made a surprising discovery: a common carcinogen in cigarette smoke, benzo(a)pyrene, induces vitamin A deficiency.

Baybutt’s earlier research had shown that animals fed a vitamin A-deficient diet developed emphysema. His latest animal studies indicate that not only does the benzo(a)pyrene in cigarette smoke cause vitamin A deficiency, but that a diet rich in vitamin A can help counter this effect, thus greatly reducing emphysema.

Growing Tips

The names “cantaloupe” and “muskmelon” are used somewhat interchangeably. What is generally called cantaloupe in the west is really a muskmelon, indicated by its webbed surface. Cantaloupes have a smooth and lumpy skin with deep ridges.

Cantaloupe transplants are delicate and roots are sensitive to disturbance. If you need to thin, use scissors. Keep soil intact around plant when transplanting. The plants need lots of water until pollination, however, too much water as the melons are ripening will dilute the sweet flavor. So, reduce watering by about 1/2 during the last month of growth, and stop altogether after you start picking. Most of the sugars in the muskmelon are produced in the last week or so, and too much water will inhibit the production.

To avoid over-ripening, harvest cantaloupes before they naturally separate from the vine. The best way to check maturity of cantaloupes is to place your thumb beside the stem and gently apply pressure to the side. If the stem separates easily, the cantaloupe is ripe.

Buying Ripe Cantaloupes

Choose a cantaloupe that seems heavy for its size, and one that does not have bruises or overly soft spots. Cantaloupes have a sweet fragrance when they are ripe and the blossom end (the end opposite the stem) of the fruit should be slightly soft. Avoid melons with a stem, which indicates the cantaloupe was harvested too early. The rind, underneath the netting, should have turned to yellow or cream from the green undertones that the unripe fruit has. Though available almost year-round, cantaloupe’s peak growing and harvesting season is June thru August.

Great Web Sites

• Cantaloupe Health Info from WholeFoods.com
• Plant Answers from Texas Cooperative Extension Service
• How to Grow Cantaloupe
• Chart showing vitamin/mineral content of many foods
• Free Online Book: Cantaloupe Culture (copyright 1910)

Chilled Cantaloupe Soup with Mint

Recipe from http://www.cantaloupe.org/

Serves:4
Prep Time:10 minutes
Ingredients:

• 1 ripe cantaloupe
• 1 cup of water
• 4 tablespoons sugar (or 8 packets Splenda)
• 4 sprigs fresh mint
• Juice of 1/2 a lime
• 1 tsp fresh lime zest
• 4 tablespoons heavy cream (for garnish)

How to Prepare:

Add water, sugar, mint leaves (save a few for garnish), lime juice and lime zest in a small saucepan. Boil for 10-minutes until mixture is reduced and syrupy.

While it is reducing, cut and seed the cantaloupe and scoop the flesh into a blender. (Since bacteria can grow on the surface of most melons, it is important to wash the outside of the cantaloupe before cutting into it.)

Pour the syrup over the cantaloupe through a sieve to remove the mint leaves and lime zest.

Pulse a few times to blend and then puree for a few seconds.

Skim the foam off the top and then place in the refrigerator until well chilled for 2-hours.

Serve in chilled bowls with mint leave garnish and a swirl of heavy cream for garnish.

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I finished weeding both long sides of the big garden today. Yay! This garden (photo is from early May) is a rectangle with cross-ties around the edges forming long raised beds. I used to have daisies all along the outside beds but they all died during the summer drought in 2007. So this year I’m planting veggies instead of flowers.

I used to have 4 foot square beds all in the center. but hubby wanted to plant greens so he removed them and tilled it all up. Then he never picked a single green! I think I’ll put in long beds instead of the 4 foot squares though.

The bed at the top left of the photos is where I planted the onions, 6 zucchini and 3 yellow squash that I planted last week. The onions are doing well, and the squash and zucchini have all sprouted.  Yesterday I planted over 100 seeds of mixed green beans (though some aren’t green) in the bed at the bottom left of the photo, after weeding and mulching, that is. They are all bush type bean varieties.

The top right corner of the garden has my 2 blueberry bushes. Last year our goats ate all the berries, and this year I don’t see any buds at all. I put a fence post on each side of the bushes today, so I am ready to drape the bird netting, if we get any buds.

The long bed running across the top of the photo is where I have planted wild flowers. I’ve never done that before so we’ll see how it goes. I’m not too sure about it because I can’t tell what’s a weed and what is not. There are lots of little sprouts there already.

Though they really should be in the herb garden, I have 2 tansy plants next to the blueberries. Tansy is generally extremely invasive, however this variety, Goldsticks, is not. They’ve been there 3 or 4 years and aren’t spreading at all, though they do get huge by the end of summer. I planted tansy as an experiment because it is said to have pest repelling properties. I want to try it in the dog bedding to see if it helps.

Today I also planted 2 acorn squash seeds next to the tansy. These are going to be huge plants because they say to space them 3 feet apart. I’ve never eaten acorn squash but I want to try it baked with brown sugar. (Recipe below.)

Whew! lots of fun gardening today. My shoulders are sunburned though. Bummer.

-= Exported from BigOven =-

Acorn Squash With Brown Sugar

Recipe By: MaggieMae on diet.com

-= Ingredients =-
each acorn squash
brown sugar
margarine
salt

-= Instructions =-
Cut your whole squash in half (lengthwise if its long like a butternut).Scoop out the seeds and stringy pulp stuff in the center of each half.Salt the cut sides and place them face down in a baking dish. Add a small amount of water to the pan, enough so the squash is sitting in 1/4 inch of water. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Serve it in the shell-topped with brown sugar, margarine, and salt. Cinnamon is good on top too. Oh and pecans too!

Microwave Directions: Cut squash in half and remove seeds & strings. Cover with plastic cling-wrap. Microwave on high 8-9 min. Let stand 5-10 min. Remove plastic. Cover with topping of choice, and enjoy!

** This recipe can be pasted into BigOven without retyping.     **
** Easy recipe software.  Try it free at: http://www.bigoven.com **

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Storing eggs for 6 to 12 months or more is actually very simple.

In The Freezer

To freeze whole eggs, beat them just until blended. Pour them into a freezer container, seal tightly, label with the number of eggs and the date, and freeze. To use, substitute 3 tablespoons thawed whole eggs for 1 large fresh egg. Or, beat one egg at a time and pour each into a cup in an ice tray. Freeze, then pop out the egg cubes and store in freezer Ziploc bags. One cube=1 egg.

Egg whites can be frozen “as is.” Pour them into a freezer container, seal tightly, label with the number of egg whites and the date, and freeze. To use, substitute 2 tablespoons (30 mL) thawed egg whites for 1 large egg.

Egg yolks will thicken or gel when frozen and therefore cannot be used in a recipe unless they receive special treatment. To prevent thickening, beat in either 1/8 teaspoon (0.5 mL) salt, or 1-1/2 teaspoons (7 mL) sugar or corn syrup per 1/4 cup (50 mL) egg yolks (about 4 yolks). Label freezer container with the number of yolks, the date and whether you added salt (for main dishes) or sugar (for desserts and baking) and freeze. Substitute 1 tablespoon (15 mL) thawed yolks for 1 large fresh yolk.

It is best to thaw eggs in the refrigerator and use them as soon as they are thawed. Use them only in dishes that will be thoroughly cooked. Eggs should not be frozen in the shell.

Without Electricity

There are a couple of ways to store eggs without refrigeration. They require cool temperatures, however. A cellar, cool basement, or cool room in the house will suffice. The cooler the better the chance that your eggs will last longer.

One method is to coat the eggs with a non-toxic substance, sealing the pores in the shell and thereby sealing out oxygen and moisture. When no oxygen is present, bacteria can’t grow, thus eggs don’t spoil.

To use lard or shortening to coat the eggs, first melt the grease and cool it til it begins to solidify again. Dip each egg in the melted grease individually and set them on a paper towel to dry. When the shortening or lard is dry on the eggs, rub the eggs with a clean towel, removing excess solid grease. Rub gently and buff each egg. Now repeat the process, before the shortening solidifies. Work fast, allowing the shortening to get almost solid before re-heating it.

Line the bottom of a flat box with a clean soft towel. Place the eggs in the box in a single layer. Cover the box with either a lid or another towel. Place the box of eggs in a cool, dry environment. Eggs prepared this way will last up to 6 months, although I have heard people say that they have kept eggs this way for 1 year if they are kept very cool.

A product that can be used to coat eggs in the same way, but that is supposed to keep the eggs fresh longer, is K-Peg. The eggs are coated with this product much the same way they would be coated with the shortening, and prepared for storage the same way.

A second method to store eggs works on the same principle: cover the pores and keep the eggs cool. However, in this method the eggs are kept immersed in a solution of Liquid Sodium Silicate, also known as liquid glass.

This non-toxic substance will cover the pores of the egg shell so well that you will probably be able to keep fresh eggs for up to 2 years! You can buy it as Sodium Silicate Solution at any pharmacy, however they may not have it on hand and have to order it for you.

Sodium Silicate, is a pale yellow, odorless, syrupy liquid. It is diluted in the proportion of one part of silicate to nine parts of distilled water or sterile water. In any case, the water should be first boiled, and then allowed to cool.

Place clean, fresh eggs in a ceramic crock. Pour liquid sodium silicate over the eggs until the eggs are covered and completely immersed in the solution. Have at least 2 inches of the solution over the top of the eggs. Do not add too many eggs as the ones on the bottom may get crushed and crack, which will spoil all the eggs.

Place a towel over the crock and tie it into place. Place the crock of eggs in a cool, dry place and don’t disturb them until you are ready to use them. To use, just take out as many eggs as you need, wash them off in plain water and use as you normally would.

Liquid Sodium Silicate Storage Tips

Only store eggs with clean shells. Washing an egg with a soiled shell lessens it keeping quality. The protective, gelatinous covering over the shell is removed by water, and when this is gone the egg spoils more rapidly.

The shells also must be free from even the tiniest crack. One cracked egg will spoil a large number of sound eggs when packed in liquid sodium silicate.

Earthenware crocks are good containers. The crocks must be clean and sound. Scald them and let them cool completely before use. A crock holding six gallons will accommodate eighteen dozens of eggs and about twenty-two pints of liquid sodium silicate.

Eggs preserved in this manner can safely be used for soft boiling or poaching for several weeks. Before boiling such eggs prick a tiny hole in the large end of the shell with a needle to keep them from cracking. After the first couple of months, stored eggs should be used only in dishes where they will be thoroughly cooked, for example, omelets, scrambled eggs, custards, cakes and general cookery.

As the eggs age, the white becomes thinner and is harder to beat. The yolk membrane becomes more delicate and it is correspondingly difficult to separate the whites from the yolks. Sometimes the white of the egg becomes tinged pink after very long keeping in liquid sodium silicate. This is due, probably, to a little iron which is in the sodium silicate, but which apparently does not injure the egg for food purposes.

In Cooked Foods

Another way to store eggs is to use them in recipes that can be frozen. These two recipes below use the whites and the yolks from about a dozen eggs. They both freeze wonderfully so you can make plenty during the egg laying season, and save extras for when eggs are less plentiful.

Angel Food Cake

Preheat oven to 375°

1 1/2 cups of egg whites brought to room temperature
1 1/2 cups sifted powered sugar
1 cup cake flour
1 1/2 tsp. cream of tarter
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. almond extract

-Sift powdered sugar and flour seperately once. Measure correct amounts as stated in ingredients and sift together 4 times.
-Place egg whites in large bowl. add salt, cream of tarter, vanilla and almond extracts.
-Beat on medium speed till soft peaks form
-Continue beating and gradually add sugar 2 tablespoons at a time.
-Beat at #8 till stiff peaks form but not dry peaks
-On lowest speed. Add powdered sugar/flour mix, a small amount at a time.
-Remove from mixer and finish mixing by hand with a spatula by folding over carefully.
-Pour(spoon) into ungreased 10″ tube pan.
-With a knife or spatula, carefully cut through batter in circular motion six times to release large bubbles.
-Bake on lowest rack of oven, for 3-5 to 40 min. or till golden brown.
-Invert pan until cool. Loosen with knife or spatula to remove.

Golden Sponge Cake

(Uses up the yolks left from the Angel Food Cake)
Preheat oven to 350°

Egg yolks of the dozen or so eggs
3 cups cake flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. lemon extract or orange extract
1 cup cold water

-Sift flour and sugar seperately one time before measuring.
-Measure flour and sugar. Sift 3 times together, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt
-In mixing bowl, beat egg yolks on #8 till fluffy and thick.
-Gradually beat add and beat in sugar.
-Turn to #2 speed(low) and add flavorings, and cold water.
-Gradually but quickly add the flour mixture while beating on low speed. Scrape bowl. Beat only enough to blend, about 2 min.
-Pour batter into an ungreased tube pan.
-Bake 1 hour or till golden brown.
-Invert cake to cool.
-Loosen sides with spatula or knife to remove.

(Recipes from Organic Homesteading Gardening Group at Yahoo.com)

Tips for using stored eggs

When you use eggs that have been in storage without electricity, crack them in a cup, not directly into your food. Otherwise you might get an awful surprise and ruin a dish.

Practice these storage techniques before you think you might really need to store eggs. Practice makes perfect!

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Green beans, also called snap beans, used to be called string beans. These days they are usually stringless, and come in a variety of colors.

Growing Beans

Green beans’ peak season is May to  October. Pods are picked young and tender, before the seeds inside have fully developed. Most popular varieties have been bred to have stringless pods, but some gardeners prefer the flavor of the old-fashioned ‘string’ types.

Beans are generally planted directly in the garden. Seeds will rot in cool, damp soil, so it is critical not to plant them too early. To get an earlier start, you can put down black plastic before-hand, to warm the soil.

There are 2 types of bean plants, bush and pole. Bush beans begin producing before pole beans and usually come in all at once, making them ideal for canning and freezing. You can plant every couple of weeks to stretch out the harvest, if desired. Pole beans need time to grow their vines before they start setting beans, but they will continue producing for a couple of months.

Cooking Beans

For cooking, choose slender beans that are crisp, bright-colored, and free of blemishes. Store green beans in the refrigerator, tightly wrapped in a plastic bag, for up to 5 days. Before cooking, wash beans and break off the stem ends.

TIP: The fewer beans in the pan, the quicker they cook and the better they taste. If cooking more than one pound at a time, use separate pans.

Recipes

There are few vegetables I’ve hated worse than green beans—until a friend introduced me to her Southern Fried Green Beans. Now green beans can go from “yuck” to “yum” in a snap.

Southern Fried Green Beans
Recipe by Lindsay Gaut

Fresh or canned green beans
Bacon (uncooked)
Bouillon cubes (chicken or beef)
Salt

Trim and discard tips of beans; set aside. Fry a few pieces of bacon in a sauce pan over medium heat for 2 or 3 minutes. Add green beans and cook on low, but do not stir. Instead shake the pan gently to mix the beans. Add 1 or 2 bouillon cubes, which will slowly dissolve, and salt to taste.

Cook on low about 40 minutes, shaking often, until the beans have shriveled, and look a bit crispy and brown.

What could destroy a healthy vegetable quicker than frying? Frying it with beer, of course.

Beer-Battered Green Beans
Taken from clipping out of the Philadelphia Inquirer

1 lb. fresh green beans
1 cup beer (lager works well)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup all-purpose flour
Vegetable oil for deep frying (about 2 cups)
Tomato sauce for dipping (optional)

Trim and discard tips of beans.  In a bowl, whisk the beer, salt and lemon juice into the flour until smooth but still foamy.  Dredge the beans in the batter.

In a large deep skillet, heat oil until it sizzles when a bit of batter is dropped into it.  Fish out the beans from the batter, shaking off excess, and fry about 10 at a time.  Cook until golden brown, flipping the beans over with tongs.  Repeat to cook all of the beans.

Drain on a paper towel and sprinkle with additional salt if desired.  If using, heat the tomato sauce and serve on the side with the beans.

(serves 4-6)

(recipe and photo from straightfromthefarm.net)

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Hubby took Jesse fishing yesterday for the first time. Jesse was so excited! He caught 2 fish all by himself. He was so proud.

David showed him how to clean them, then it was up to me to figure out how to cook them. (I love fish, but I’ve never cooked it myself before.)

I ended up cooking them using a recipe I found for Trout. I don’t think I cooked them enough in the oven so we put them in the microwave for a couple of minutes, but I still think they were a bit underdone. Oh, well. As I told Jesse, I’m just learning how to cook fish.

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I popped out and snipped the rosemary fresh from my herb garden, and I used organic butter, garlic and lemon. Delicious!

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Grilled Montana Trout

“Trout is stuffed with lemon, garlic and herbs before being wrapped in aluminum foil and cooked over the coals of the campfire.”

Ingredients:
2 trout, cleaned and head removed
3 tablespoons cold butter, thinly sliced
6 sprigs fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lemon, halved and thinly sliced

Directions:
1. Place each trout onto a square of aluminum foil. Open them up so that the flesh is facing upwards. On one side of each fish, season with salt and pepper, half of the garlic, half of the chopped rosemary and half of the parsley. Top each fish with thin slices of butter, 3 rosemary sprigs and a few slices of lemon. Squeeze one of the remaining lemon slices over each fish. Enclose the seasoning inside each fish and wrap securely with the sheet of aluminum foil. Wrap each fish in an additional piece of aluminum foil.

2. Place fish in the coals of a campfire or on a grill over a flame and cook for about 7 minutes on each side. If you can easily stick a fork into the fish, it is done. Cooking time will vary depending on the size of your fish and the fire. Allow to cool for a few minutes before opening to serve.

Printed from Allrecipes.com 5/18/2009

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Today was much cooler than it has been here in NW Mississippi, highs in the upper 60’s instead of the 80’s, and finally not raining. It is also breezy and sunny– a Beautiful Day!

Rose and Mealy Cup Sage

Roses
First my much neglected roses needed dead-heading (removing the faded blooms). I tried to prune out some of the tangled branches on the floribundas too. It has rained so much the last month, as it always does here in May, that I haven’t gone outside much to enjoy the garden.

You can see in the photo that some mealy-cup sage (salvia) is growing right next to the rose. I planted those seeds 5 years ago and they keep coming back, even though they are supposed to be annuals. Guess they are self-seeding. They’re so pretty.

Queen Elizabeth Hybrid Tea Rose

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My Queen Elizabeth rose (a hybrid tea) is recovering from the very late pruning I did in April. (Hybrid teas need a hard pruning in late winter to look their best.)  She is even blooming already. On the left are Daylilies that I grew from seed (from Park Seed), and some Lemon Balm that is getting almost out of control.

I Hate Onions
I planted onion bulbs I bought a couple of weeks ago. Some have sprouted a bit, some are shriveled and dry. I am curious to see which ones actually grow. I’ve never grown onions before, since I dislike them except as onion rings (go figure). I am trying to eat slow, organic, local, healthy foods now, so I found I actually bought onions to try in some recipes. If I’m going to eat them, I’d rather they be my own pesticide-free, chemical-free onions.

Onions Planted

Zucchini and Squash
I also planted zucchini and yellow squash from some old seeds I had. I hope to get a lot of zucchini to use in zucchini bread, etc. I’ve never had yellow squash, though I have grown it lots, but I’ve got some recipes now so I want to try it. I may even try frying some of the blossoms–they are supposed to be good to eat. I have spaghetti squash and acorn squash seeds to plant also later on. I just have to find a spot. (Hmm. Zucchini is a squash. Why is it called zucchini?)

Fried Bacon, Squash & Potatoes

6 bacon strips, sliced
1 large potato, peeled and diced
1 small onion, diced
1 medium zucchini, diced
1 medium yellow summer squash, diced
1 tablespoon fresh minced dill or 1 teaspoon dill weed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove the bacon to paper towels; drain, reserving 2 tablespoons drippings.

Add potato to drippings, cook and stir until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the onion, zucchini and yellow squash. Cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Return bacon to skillet; sprinkle with dill, salt and pepper. Cook and stir for about 1 minutes.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

From Taste of Home: The Market Fresh Cookbook

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I’m having a few problems as I try to stay away from processed foods with chemicals and additives. The biggest is that I don’t always have time to cook. I haven’t figured out things to have around that are easy to grab and go. On the 3 days that I had to work last week all I had for lunch was pretzels, an apple and a banana. Breakfast was toast with fruit spread and a banana. I’m happy that these were healthy, safe foods, but I got really hungry by late afternoon. (Being short of funds makes this worse since I can’t buy too much food yet.) On the plus side, I magically lost 10 pounds in the week since I changed my food. <Doing the Snoopy happy dance>

I don’t expect to have to leave home to work next week, and Friday will be pay day so things should get easier soon. But I still have to figure out what to buy. It’s a whole new world.

I’ve been advised to purchase fresh fruit and veggies at the farmer’s market instead of Whole Foods Market, it is supposed to be much cheaper. We’ll be going to the farmer’s market at the Ag Center in Memphis for the first time on Saturday, if it doesn’t rain. There is a fairly new farmer’s market in mid-town Memphis on Saturdays too. It is supposed to be very nice, so we’ll try to swing by there on Saturday also.

Tonight for supper, we started with a simple salad with Newman’s Oil & Vinegar dressing. I didn’t like the dressing–it had a bitter aftertaste to me. Then we had organic chicken drumsticks and thighs oven-baked with home-made “shake-n-bake.” (The recipe is below.)  It was incredibly good. I don’t know if it was the organic/free-range chicken, or the “shake-n-bake” recipe, but it was the best chicken I’ve had in a very long time. Along with the chicken, we had organic potatoes with a little butter, wrapped in foil and baked along with the chicken. Even the potatoes were incredibly good, probably from using real butter instead of poison-chemical spread–I mean margarine.

Easy Shake and Bake Chicken

Recipe From http://allrecipes.com/
Serving Size: 6

-= Ingredients =-

• 3 pounds chicken ; cut into pieces
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon sage
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup butter

-= Instructions =-
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).

1. Mix flour, salt, paprika, sage and pepper together in a bag. (I used poultry seasoning instead of the salt, paprika, sage, and pepper.)
2. Add chicken parts in a bag and shake until well coated.
3. Melt butter/margarine in a 9×13 inch baking dish in the preheated oven.
4. Place chicken in the baking dish skin side down and bake for 30 minutes.
5. Turn pieces and bake another 30 minutes until tender and juices run clear.

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Jesse really wanted chocolate chip cookies, but we are out of eggs. It’s as good a time as any to test out some more of the egg substitutes I’ve found and listed on the cooking page at www.chickensense.com.

We dug out the Tollhouse Cookie recipe and got to work. We used 2 tablespoons of cornstarch for each egg called for in the recipe, in this case 2 eggs, so 4 tablespoons of corn starch. We also added a bit of water since the moisture from the eggs isn’t there. We used pecans instead of walnuts, too.

The cookies are scrumptious. You would never know we didn’t use eggs, and the pecans taste so much better than the walnuts. These are the best tasting Tollhouse Cookies we’ve ever had.

Tollhouse Cookies

2 1/4 cups Flour (all purpose)
1 teaspoons Baking soda
1 teaspoons Salt
3/4 cups Sugar
3/4 cups Brown sugar (firmly packed)
1 teaspoons Vanilla extract
1/2 cup Margarine (melted)
4 tablespoons Corn Starch OR 2 eggs
2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans OR walnuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In small bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In large bowl combine margarine, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract. Add 4 tablespoons of corn starch and 1/8 to 1/4 cup water, OR 2 eggs.

Gradually add flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.

Drop by teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake at 375 degrees for 8 to 11 min. Let cool a bit before removing from cookie sheets.

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Since we don’t have any laying hens at the moment, I’ve done a bit of research on egg replacements to use for cooking. I was amazed at the amount of information on this subject. Below is a summary of what I found. I hope it will be helpful. (I’ve used the vinegar substitute before and it really does work just fine.)

Egg Alternatives

As a general rule, the fewer eggs a recipe calls for, the easier they will be to substitute. So, if a cookie recipe calls for one egg, using an egg substitute will work much better than in a recipe that requires three or four eggs. Also consider how the substitute will affect the overall taste of the finished dish. Bananas, for example, may add a fruity sweetness to pancakes and cookies, but if you are making a casserole or another savory dish, you will want to use something else.

While bananas or applesauce are both good to use as egg replacers in sweet baked goods such as muffins, pancakes, or yeast-free quick breads, such as pumpkin or banana bread, they won’t help your dishes rise or turn out light and fluffy, so be sure the recipe you are using includes a bit of baking powder or baking soda to help it rise if needed.

In savory recipes such as casseroles and main course dishes, arrowroot starch, potato starch, cornstarch, whole-wheat flour, unbleached, oat, or bean flour, finely crushed breadcrumbs, cracker meal, quick-cooking rolled oats or cooked oatmeal, mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, or instant potato flakes are all great egg substitutes. Experiment a little with these ingredients until you find the right balance. Try using 2-3 tablespoons of any of these ingredients to replace 1 whole egg, and try choosing an ingredient that’s already a part of your recipe so you do not alter the original taste a lot.

If you’re looking for an egg replacer that binds, try adding 2 to 3 tablespoons of any of the following for each egg: tomato paste, potato starch, arrowroot powder, whole wheat flour, mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, instant potato flakes, or 1/4 cup tofu puréed with 1 Tbsp. flour.

Easy Substitutes for 1 egg:

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice + 1 teaspoon baking soda.
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon yeast dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water
• 2 tablespoons potato starch
• 2 tablespoons vinegar + 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup mashed potatoes
• 1/4 cup canned pumpkin or squash
• 1/4 cup pureed fruit + 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 of a mashed ripe banana + 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 heaping tablespoon soy powder + 2 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch (good for delicate cakes & cookies.)
• 2 tablespoons water + 1 tablespoon oil + 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon soy milk powder + 1 tablespoon cornstarch + 2 tablespoons water
• Dissolve 1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin in 1 tablespoon cold water, then add 2 tablespoons boiling water. Beat vigorously until frothy.
• 2 tablespoons arrowroot flour. (Sometimes you may want to add a little extra milk or water or oil to make up for the bulk that you would get with a real egg. Good for pancakes and waffles.)
• 1 tablespoon vinegar + 1 teaspoon baking soda. (White distilled vinegar or apple cider vinegar can be used.) Works well in cakes, cupcakes and quick breads.

Flax:

For each egg needed, place in blender:
1 heaping tablespoon of whole organic flax seed and blend until it becomes a fine meal (flaxmeal). Add 1/4 cup cold water; blend 2-3 minutes until thickened and has the consistency of eggs. Each 1/4 cup of this Flax seed mixture will replace one egg in baking.

Another method is to use flaxmeal with baking powder. (Make flaxmeal by grinding flaxseed in a blender until it has the consistency of cornmeal.) Use two tablespoons flaxmeal plus 1/8 teaspoon baking powder plus 3 tablespoons water for each egg called for in recipe.

Yet another option is to combine 1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds (flaxmeal) with 3 tablespoons boiling water in a small bowl for each egg you wish to replace. Let it stand approximately 10 minutes, until water is absorbed by flax, and then add to the recipe in place of egg.

Tofu:

Tofu is the best way to substitute eggs in dishes such as a quiche, or egg salad. Although tofu doesn’t fluff up like eggs, it does create a texture that is perfect for “eggy” dishes. If desired, add a bit of mustard, turmeric or nutritional yeast to your dish to give it a yellow hue.

Silken tofu is also an appropriate egg substitute in baked goods. To use, blend 1/4 cup silken tofu with liquid ingredients until tofu is smooth and creamy. Using tofu can make baked goods a bit on the heavy and thick side, so it works well in brownies and pancakes, but not in something like an angel food cake that needs to be light and fluffy.

2 oz of soft tofu can be blended with some water and substituted for an egg to add consistency. Or try the same quantity of: mashed beans, mashed potatoes, or nut butters.

When adding tofu to a recipe as an egg replacer, you may want to purée it first to avoid chunks in the finished product. Also, use plain tofu, not seasoned or baked, as a replacer.

Homemade Liquid Egg Substitute:

Homemade egg substitutes are less expensive and just as satisfactory. They also have few calories. Here’s a low cholesterol egg substitute recipe:

• 1 tablespoon of nonfat dry milk powder
• 2 egg whites from large eggs
• 4 drops of yellow food color

Sprinkle powdered milk over egg whites, then beat them with fork until smooth. Add food color, and beat until blended. This makes 1/4 cup, which is equal to 1 large egg. If you use this homemade substitute for scrambled eggs, cook it in vegetable oil or margarine so the eggs won’t be too dry.

You may also be interested in:
How To Break An Egg: 1,453 Kitchen Tips, Food Fixes, Emergency Substitutions and Handy Techniques. It is such an incredibly useful book, especially the “fixes for cooking disasters” section.

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I think I have created the most amazing cornbread recipe, if I do say so myself. I’ve been making it for a year now and always receive many compliments. It is a little bit sweet, crusty and absolutely delicious. It is so popular around here that I make a mix of it so I can whip it up any time I need to.

Chickensense Skillet Cornbread Mix

5 cups white flour
5 cups cornmeal
2 1/2 cups white sugar
1/4 cup powdered milk
2 1/2 teaspoons each baking soda, baking power, and salt

Mix it all together and store in a covered container until ready to use. Shake or roll the container to mix the ingredients together well.

To Make Corn Bread (from the mix)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add 1/4 cup margarine to an 8″ cast iron skillet and place in the preheating oven.

Meanwhile, measure 3 cups Skillet Cornbread Mix in a mixing bowl; set aside.

Crack 1 egg in a measuring cup, mix well with a fork. Add enough water to measure 1 cup. Pour the water/egg mixture into the cornbread mix and stir until moistened. If it is too dry, add up to a 1/4 cup more water. The batter should be a bit thick. (Don’t stir too much or the cornbread will be tough.)

Once the oven is hot, very carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven, taking care not to spill the melted margarine. Pour the cornbread batter into the skillet. Use the back of a spoon to spread the batter, and slosh some of the melted margarine from the sides over on top of the batter. Don’t stir the margarine into the batter.

Return skillet to the oven. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

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Looking for something to do with leftover chicken? I found some recipes (see below), that sound so gooood! I spent so much time browsing recipes that it got too late to cook any of them, so I ended up making some grilled cheese sandwiches and soup tonight. (They were really good though, because I used “hoop cheese” instead of plain american cheese. I have no idea where you can get hoop cheese, I get it from the little corner store, call The Little Place.)

I really need to use this leftover chicken tonight so it doesn’t spoil, so I have picked it off the bone, cut it in cubes and put it in a ziplock bag in the freezer. Then in the next couple of days I can try one of these recipes. (I see I have a huge piece of turkey breast in the freezer too. I may mix it with the chicken in one of these recipes…)

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-= Exported from BigOven =-

Chicken, Cheese, and Biscuits

“A melange of Cheddar, chicken, mushrooms and green beans is capped with flaky buttermilk biscuits for a yummy all-in-one meal.”

Recipe By: allrecipes.com by Jill M.
Serving Size: 4

-= Ingredients =-

1 tablespoon margarine
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
1/4 teaspoon rubbed sage
1 1/2 cups milk
2 cubes chicken bouillon
1 pinch ground white pepper
2 ounces Cheddar cheese ; shredded
1 cup Chicken breast ; cooked & diced
1 cup fresh mushrooms ; sliced
1 cup fresh green beans ; chopped
1 can (10 oz) refrigerated biscuit dough

-= Instructions =-

1. In a saucepan, heat margarine until hot and bubbly. Add flour, mustard, and sage; stir quickly to combine. Stirring constantly, add milk. Cook and stir until smooth.

2. Add bouillon and pepper, and mix well. Reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture is thick, 5 to 10 minutes.

3. Stir in the cheese, and cook until melted. Add the chicken, mushrooms, and green beans. Cook until heated through, 3 to 5 minutes.

4. Pour chicken mixture into a lightly greased 9×13 inch baking dish. Separate biscuits into 2 layers, making 10 circles. Arrange biscuits over chicken mixture.

5. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) until biscuits are golden, about 10 to 12 minutes.

** This recipe can be pasted into BigOven without retyping. **
** Easy recipe software. Try it free at: http://www.bigoven.com **

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Cornbread Chicken Casserole

Recipe By: http://beprepared.com/recipes.asp_Q_ai_E_248_A_nam
Serving Size: 6

-= Ingredients =-

~~ — Cornbread — ~~
1 Cup Yellow Cornmeal
1/2 Cup All-Purpose Flour
1 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 tablespoon Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Baking soda
1 tablespoon Vegetable oil
3/4 Cup Dehydrated Buttermilk
1 Egg
1/2 Cup Butter ; melted

~~ — Chicken Filling — ~~

2 tablespoons Butter
1/4 Cup Chopped Yellow Onion
1/2 Cup Celery ; Sliced Thin
1 3/4 Cup Chicken Broth
1 can (12 oz) Cream of Chicken Soup
1 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Freshly Ground Pepper
2 1/2 Cup Chicken ; freeze dried

-= Instructions =-

Cornbread:

1. Mix all cornbread ingredients except for butter in mixing bowl until smooth.
2. Pour into greased 8-in. square baking pan and bake at 375°F for 20-25 minutes or until done.
3. Remove from oven and let cool. When cool crumble cornbread and place 3 cup of cornbread crumbs into mixing bowl.
4. Add 1/2 cup butter to crumbs; mix well, set aside.

Chicken Filling:

1. In a saucepan on medium low heat, place butter and saute onion and celery until transparent.
2. Add chicken broth, cream of chicken soup, salt, and pepper. Stir until well blended.
3. Add chicken; stir until mixture reaches a low simmer. Cook 5 min. and remove from heat.
4. Place chicken mixture in buttered 2-1/2 qt. casserole dish.
5. Spoon cornbread crumbs on top; Do not stir into chicken mixture.
6. Place baking dish in preheated 350°F for 35-40 minutes.

** This recipe can be pasted into BigOven without retyping. **
** Easy recipe software. Try it free at: http://www.bigoven.com **

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-= Exported from BigOven =-

Egg Chicken Casserole

“Eggs and bread add a particular smoothness to this chicken and soup casserole.”

Recipe By: allrecipes.com Laurie Dombrosky
Serving Size: 8

-= Ingredients =-

6 slices white bread ; torn into small pieces
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter ; melted
20 saltine crackers ; crushed
2 cups chicken broth
3 pound Chicken ; boiled & deboned
1 can (10.5 oz) Condensed chicken & rice soup
1 can (10.75 oz) Condensed cream of mushroom soup

-= Instructions =-

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. In a medium bowl combine the chicken meat, chicken and rice soup, cream of mushroom soup, bread and eggs. Mix all together and pour mixture into a 9×13 inch baking dish.

3. In a small bowl combine butter/margarine and crackers and stir together. Spread on top of chicken mixture. Pour chicken broth over all and bake uncovered in the preheated oven for 1 hour or until cracker crumbs on top are golden brown.

** This recipe can be pasted into BigOven without retyping. **
** Easy recipe software. Try it free at: http://www.bigoven.com **

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Jesse and I just rolled, cut, baked, and frosted sugar cookies from the dough I made last night. (I posted the cookie recipe in yesterday’s entry.) I apparently didn’t cover the dough very well in the fridge, so it was dry and crumbly. I added about 1/8 cup milk and worked it into the dough with additional flour, and was able to get it to a nice consistency.

We made 3 dozen cookies: sleighs, reindeer (8, of course), wreaths, Christmas trees, crosses, snowmen, stockings, and gingerbread men.

I used to have an angel cookie cutter but it seems to have flown away. [Pun intended ]

The finished cookies are delicious. They taste great plain, and also frosted. We happened to have leftover cake frosting in the fridge so we used vanilla buttercream frosting. Yum!

(For the story of Jesse’s burns go to Jesse’s web page.)

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I’m trying a new recipe for Banana Bread tonight because I’ve got some over-ripe bananas that really need to be used. Banana bread has always been a favorite of mine, but this is the first I’ve made with all whole-wheat flour. (It certainly smelled luscious while it is baking!)

My whole wheat flour was ground for me by a friend when we went in on a group buy of 5 gallon buckets of wheat this summer. It has been excellent in the honey wheat bread recipe I often use, so I know it will be good in this recipe too. (I keep it in the freezer since whole wheat flour doesn’t keep as well as white flour at room temperature.)

11p.m.- update: The banana bread was delicious! This is a fantastic recipe!

Tip: Freeze ripe bananas until there is enough for a recipe or two. Just peel, break in half, and freeze in a plastic bag. To use, just thaw and add to mixing bowl.

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It was so cold this evening that I’ve decided to bake some cookies to warm up the kitchen at least. So I’ve been browsing my recipes for some good choices. I store my recipes in Big Oven recipe software that I bought around 4 years ago. It is available online for $9.95. Good price for some good software. There is a basic version, that I had, and a deluxe version. I am now using the deluxe version (approx. $30), and I really love the fact that you can use multiple “recipe boxes.” This option isn’t available in the basic version, and I never thought I’d need it but I love being able to download and view entire recipe collections (recipe boxes).

Since it is so close to Christmas, the first thing I made is some dough for sugar cookies. The dough has to sit in the fridge for a couple of hours, so here I am blogging.

The sugar cookie recipe I used is one I have not tried before, but I found it in the “Cookies” recipe box that comes with the deluxe version of Big Oven recipe software. The instructions say to cream the shortening and sugar together with an electric mixer. Big mistake! The shortening got all inside the beaters and the sugar stayed on the outside and the two never mixed! I had to scrape off the beaters and mash it all together with a big spoon. The dough seemed very dry to me. It was so difficult to mix. Still, if they taste good, that’s what matters.

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• Have enough jars to fill your canner.
• In each jar add one cup of dry beans fill with water and soak over night.
• The next morning pour out the soaking water add fresh water and one teaspoon of salt (garlic powder or onion powder can also be added).
• Seal jars with rings and flats.
• Place jars in canner with two inches of water cook at 10 to 15 pounds pressure for the times listed below.

Cooking Times:

• small beans 45 minutes
• brown beans 1 hour
• chick peas or soy beans 1 1/2 hours

I love being able to cook a canner full of beans so quickly!

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