In the Kitchen with Lin

Pumpkin Bars

2010-09-26T08:18:00.002-07:00

Hi all!
It's that time of the year to start baking again. Hopefully, my followers are still around!
I had a request for my annual Pumpkin Bars. Just a reminder that this is great at this time of year.
Enjoy!

Marianne Murciano's Famous Corn Souffle. - WGN Radio

2010-03-20T13:13:00.000-07:00

Ever since hearing about this recipe on the noon radio show on WGN, I wanted to try it. A few weeks ago, I made a ham and thought that that would be a good chance to make it.

Let me just say, Wow! If you like cornbread, this is a wonderful treat! We fought over the leftovers the next day.

Only change I made was that I needed to cook mine almost an hour, check to make sure the middle is set.

Marianne Murciano's Famous Corn Souffle. - WGN Radio:
Ingredients:

8oz Sour Cream
1 can Creamed Corn (not strained)
1 can Regular Corn (strained)
2 Eggs (beaten)
1 stick of Butter (melted)
1 box of Jiffy Corn Muffin mix.

Mix in bowl and pour into casserole dish.
Bake at 350 degrees (leave top off) for 45 minutes.
Copyright © 2010, WGN Radio"

Hope you enjoy this as much as we did! I'm making it again tonight with ham and bean soup made from the ham bone.

Free Sample Dunkin' Donuts!

2010-03-09T17:57:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T10:47:00.000-08:00

We tend to eat our Thanksgiving Dinner at dinner time. I've got the turkey out on the grill, but it's a windy cold day, so it's harder to regulate the temperature. Hopefully it's done around 5, which means we won't sit down to eat till 6! Later than I wished.
I made the pumpkin pie, baking now.
Still have to do the broccoli and the sweet potatoes and set the table.

Want to wish all of you and your families a very Happy Thanksgiving! Hope all your recipes come out just right!

Apple Pie

2009-11-25T16:30:00.000-08:00

First thing I did after completing my shopping was to make the brine for the turkey. It needed to cool, so I wanted to get that out of the way. It is now in the brine, in a cooler, out on the deck.

Next, I made the apple pie. It came out beautifully. I used a recipe from Pioneer Woman's website, although hers was finished off with pecans and caramel sauce. I just used the streusel topping. It was overflowing and I thought maybe I had made a mistake, but after baking it must melt down. I'll let you know how it is after tomorrow.

I made the jello, it ended up filling a 3 cup and a 2 cup mold.

I'm now in the process of boiling the potatoes for the mashed, also from Pioneer Woman. Will assemble and keep them in the fridge overnight.

I still have the sweet potatoes, broccoli casserole, and pumpkin pie to put together. Besides making the stuffing in the morning. I'm not sure if I'll do anything more tonight after these potatoes are done. I'm kind of pooped!

Thanksgiving Plan

2009-11-25T10:30:00.000-08:00

I have been researching for weeks, trying to get an idea for a great, diverse Thanksgiving menu. I'm concentrating on make-ahead dishes also. Although, once the turkey is cooking, there is not much to do....

Allowing for family favorites, here is the plan:

Frosted Fruit Gelatin
Turkey (brined)I've never tried this before, but have read nothing but rave reviews. I don't want it to be too salty, so I will use a combination of vegetable broth and apple juice.
stuffing
mashed potatoes (Pioneer Woman)
sweet potatoes not sure of prep yet
broccoli casserole (my recipe)
cranberry sauce (jelled in the can, that's what they like!)
pumpkin pie
apple pie (dutch?)

breakfast I'm going to make monkey bread. Try to start a new tradition. Think I'm too late?

Did my shopping and now going to start. Also want to pull my good china out of storage and use it. That will be a small chore, too!

Will let you know how I did, and post recipes as I go.

Frosted Fruit Gelatin

2009-11-24T08:27:00.000-08:00

This is our favorite jello which we always serve at holidays.
Ingredients

* 6 oz. cherry jello
* 10 oz. frozen strawberries (sweetened)
* 2 large ripe bananas
* 15 oz. can crushed pineapple

Directions

1. Combine jello, 2 cups boiling water and strawberries, set aside till strawberries thaw. Mash bananas with pineapple. Add to jello. Pour into 13 x 9 pan. Refrigerate until set. Can be spread with 1 cup sour cream.

Footnotes

* This can also poured into your favorite jello molds.

not my picture, but this is how it will look!

Pancakes

2009-11-19T20:08:00.000-08:00

Tonite I wanted to make something that I had all the ingredients for. Needed some "comfort" food, too! Although I usually make pancakes for breakfast, once in awhile it makes a nice dinner, too!

I use the same batter to make either banana or blueberry pancakes. Both versions are shown here.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Ready In: 15 minutes
Yields: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 -3/4 cup milk
2 Tablespoons melted butter
1 egg
1 cup white flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 Tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon cinnamon (to taste)
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 smashed bananas

DIRECTIONS:
Beat the milk, butter, honey, and egg lightly in mixing bowl. Mix the flour,
baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg and add all at once to the flour
mixture.
Will be lumpy, don't overstir.
Stir in bananans.
Using a moderately hot griddle or pan, greased, drop mixture by ladle to form 3"
or so pancake. Allow to cook till small bubbles form around edges, then flip.
These dont' take long.
FOOTNOTES:
I usually double the recipe and freeze any leftovers in sandwich bags. reheat
in microwave!
For blueberry pancakes, use sugar instead of honey, eliminate the nutmeg,and use
1/2 - 3/4 cup of blueberries instead of bananas. I always have frozen berries
which i don't even defrost.
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Oatmeal revisited

2009-11-06T21:36:00.000-08:00

I have previously posted a wonderful way to prepare oatmeal. It involved nuking an apple and combining with the cooked cereal. Yum.
During the warm months, I took a break from the hot cereal and switched to Multi-Grain Cheerios. If you haven't tried them, they are wonderful! Now that fall has returned, and I'm trying to eat half-way healthy, it's back to oatmeal Mon-Fri.
Seems like I'm more in a hurry than ever, so I've shortened up my preparation. Still as yummy, try this:
Bring 1 1/2 cups water to boil.
Add 3/4 cups oats (not instant)
Bring back to a boil and throw in some raisins. (1/4 cup or so) Cook over low, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
Add cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar (or no-cal sweetener) to taste. I use Splenda.

Now, here's the secret. Add a little Coffeemate liquid creamer. Pick a flavor you like. I've been using Caramel Apple. It makes such a big difference! Makes your oatmeal seem decadent! Try it, you'll like it!

I hope you can see how creamy this dish is! Yum!

Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

2009-11-02T14:03:00.000-08:00

So sorry I've been away from blogging. Maybe the cooler weather will make me spend more time here.
Here is a favorite recipe of mine for this time of year. It is from a Pillsubry cookbook from 1982. Hmm, that makes it 27 years old! Have been making these ever since!

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 tsps. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup oil
15 oz. can pumpkin (not pie filling)
4 eggs

Head oven to 350. Grease 15x10" jelly roll pan (in my house, I use this as a cookie sheet) Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup, level off. In large bowl, blend all bar ingredients at low speed until moistened. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes or til toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

In small bowl, combine frosting ingredients:

2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup margarine or butter, softened
3 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 Tblsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla

beat until smooth. Spread over cooled bars. Refrigerate leftovers. 48 bars. Each bar is 135 calories.
Enjoy!

Frozen Strawberry Margaritas

2009-08-13T19:32:00.000-07:00

This Saturday I'm attending the Jimmy Buffett concert here in Chicago with approximately 30,000 other Parrotheads. That is what a Buffett fan is called.
Tradition has it that the concert is preceded by several hours of tailgating. It's a very important part of the whole experience.
We will bring a small grill and coolers and a baggo game. I'm in charge of the Strawberry Margaritas. The forecast is calling for 90 degrees and sunny, so these will taste epecially refreshing!

Easy recipe, but you MUST have a good blender and lots of ice!

Use proportions according to how many you will be serving. I ended up with a little over a gallon of frozen margs.

6 oz. triple sec
12 oz. (1 can) frozen Limeade concentrate
18 oz. tequila
24 oz. frozen strawberries, (the kind in the carton, sweetened)

Notice, it is 1 part triple sec, 2 parts limeade, 3 parts tequila, 4 parts strawberries! Easy to adjust for your crowd.

First blend all the liquid ingredients together. Mix in the strawberries. Start adding ice, blending into strawberry mixture until you get the consistency you like. I like them pretty thick. The amount of ice will determine how much you end up with and how strong they are.

Simple Supper Saturday-Stir Fry Chicken Dinner

2009-08-07T20:47:00.000-07:00

This is my contribution to the Krazy Kitchen, Simple Supper Saturday.

This is a very simple, delicious meal to throw together when you don't have anything defrosted.
Bring home a roasted chicken (I like the ones from Sam's Club, they're very meaty!). Cut chicken into serving size pieces.
Prepare stir-fry vegetables from frozen. They only need about 10 minutes covered in the pan with water.
Prepare a pan of rice.
Delicious and quick!

Blueberry Muffins

2009-07-21T17:57:00.000-07:00

This is an old recipe of mine. It is from the "Food Processor Bread Book". Before I owned a KitchenAid mixer (which I love), or a bread machine, I used to make bread in a food processor. This was probably 25 years ago. I had a cheap Sears food processor, and one day the plastic blade broke. I've never bought another. Maybe someday. In the meantime, I've adapted this recipe to make it without the use of any special equipment.

1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cold butter
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in cold butter till it's in small pieces. Beat egg with milk with a fork, add to flour mixture. Stir in with a spoon, just to moisten. Don't overmix. Lightly stir in blueberries.

Spray muffin tin with non-stick spray. Spoon batter into cups, filling about 2/3 full.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes.

Makes 9-12 yummy muffins!

Gooey Double Chocolate Butter Cake

2009-07-19T21:15:00.000-07:00

If you are a fan of Food Network, then you're familiar with Paula Deen. She is notorious for cooking with lots of butter. I would venture to say that none of her recipes are figure-friendly, but out of all the Food Network hosts, hers are probably the most delicious dishes! I've made a few of her desserts, and have been wanting to try this one for a long time.
Since we were visiting friends yesterday, I decided this was my chance. This cake was a big hit! It is gooey, it is not a fancy dessert. You don't have to frost it. In fact, I made it quickly and took it while still warm to the party. I'll be making this again, (and all the flavor variations!)

Thanks to Paula Deen for this great cake!!!

Ingredients

* Butter, for greasing pan, plus 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) butter, melted
* 1 (18.25 ounce) package chocolate cake mix
* 1 egg, plus 2 eggs
* 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
* 3 to 4 tablespoons cocoa powder (3 was plenty!)
* 1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar (I used a little less)
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 cup chopped nuts

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Lightly grease a 13 by 9-inch baking pan. In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, 1 egg, and 8 tablespoons (1 stick) melted butter, and stir until well blended. Pat mixture into prepared pan and set aside. In a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the remaining 2 eggs, and the cocoa powder. Lower the speed of the mixer, and add the powdered sugar. Continue beating until ingredients are well mixed. Slowly add the remaining 8 tablespoons (1 stick) of melted butter, and the vanilla, continuing to beat the mixture until smooth. Stir in nuts with a rubber spatula. Spread filling over cake mixture in pan.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the cake; the center should still be a little gooey when finished baking. Let cake partially cool on a wire rack before cutting into pieces.

I'd like to try this substituting chocolate chips for the nuts. Chocolate overload!

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bread

2009-07-17T18:20:00.000-07:00

Elvis loved peanut butter and banana sandwiches. A great breakfast treat is toast slathered with peanut butter and banana sliced on top. Of course, there's always a good PB&J sandwich. And who doesn't like banana bread?

Well, this recipe combines all of these things. Simply a banana bread with a hint of peanut butter and a ribbon of jelly built right in. Really a great snack or breakfast! I got this recipe years ago off of a carton of Land O Lakes Butter.

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup mashed bananas (2 medium)
3/4 cup chunky peanut butter
1/3 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup strawberry (or grape) preserves or jelly

Heat oven to 325. In large mixer bowl combine all ingredients except jelly. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until well mixed (2 to 3 minutes) Spread half the batter into greased 9x5" loaf pan. Spread jelly over layer; do not spread all the way out to the sides of the pan. Top with remaining batter. Bake for 60 - 70 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes, remove from pan. Cool completely before slicing.

It's True/Jay's

2009-06-13T06:46:00.000-07:00

Anyone in the Chicago area is familiar with Jay's Potato chips. Can you read their slogan at the top of the bag? "Can't stop eating 'em" I made the mistake of buying a couple bags and then opening this one. Wow, the greasy crunchiness of their chips is amazing. Their slogan is true.

Apple-Cinnamon Oatmeal

2009-05-01T14:56:00.000-07:00

I never ate hot cereal until I started Weight Watchers. Now I really like it, espcially on cold mornings.
If you have only had instant oatmeal, take the time to try this. You won't be sorry!

Apple-Cinnamon Oatmeal

1 Cup water
1/2 Cup old-fashioned oats
raisins (if desired)
dash salt
1 small apple
cinnamon
nutmeg
splenda/sugar/honey

Bring water to a boil. Stir in oatmeal and salt. Reduce heat and let cook for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, chop apple. In bowl, microwave apple, small handful (1/8 cup?) raisins, 1 Tablespoon water for 2 minutes. Drain.
When oatmeal is cooked (5 minutes), add to apple mixture.
Add cinnamon and nutmeg to taste. Add desired sweetener. Let cool, this is hot!

If you use Splenda for your sweetener, it is only 3 WW points!

P. S. I'm sorry about the reverse order of the pictures. I can't really figure out how to get them where I want them!

Seven Layer Mexican Dip

2009-04-28T17:14:00.001-07:00

Perfect Party Appetizer!!!

I've been making this dip in various forms for probably 10 years. I think I've finally perfected it. It's always a hit!

Ingredients:
1 can refried beans
8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
16 oz. container sour cream
16 oz. jar salsa
3 ripe avocados
2 cloves garlic
green onions
16 oz. can black olives, drained
2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
Taco seasoning

In 9x13 glass pan layer the following:

Blend 1 Tablespoon (or to taste) taco seasoning with can of beans. Spread in bottom of dish.
Mix sour cream with cream cheese and blend in another Tablespoon taco seasoning. You can also add a few shots of hot sauce to taste to this mixture. Spread on top of bean layer.
Make guacamole with the avocados by mashing with fork, add 2 teaspoons lime juice, minced garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt. You can also add a Tablespoon or 2 of salsa to this mixture. Spread over the sour cream layer.
Next layer is your jar of salsa. I actually let this drain in a mesh strainer for a few minutes so your dip doesn't get too soggy. You only need the solid portion of the salsa. Now spread this onto the guacamole layer.
Now, no matter how neat or sloppy your dip looks, it doesn't matter. You're going to cover the whole thing with the shredded cheese and noone will know the difference! Garnish with the ripe olives and chopped green onions.
Serve with tortilla chips. And I hope you enjoy!

Kahlua Chocolate Cake

2009-03-28T15:41:00.001-07:00

I received an email greeting from kahlua and this recipe was included. It looks like a really nice cake and I plan to make it soon!

Kahlúa Chocolate Cake

3 eggs, separated
¾ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup butter
1 cup light brown sugar
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ cup strong, cold coffee
¾ cup Kahlúa
Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease & flour two 9-inch cake pans. Beat egg whites until frothy, then beat in sugar until stiff peaks form. Set aside. Cream butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time. Sift flour, cocoa, baking soda together. Add to creamed mixture alternately with coffee and Kahlúa; blend well. Fold egg whites into batter. Pour into prepared pans. Bake 30-35 mins. or until done. Cool 10 mins. Invert on wire rack and remove pans. Serves 10-12.
Kahlúa Frosting

In a large bowl, cream 6 tbsp. butter and 1 lb. sifted powdered sugar. Add 3 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder, 3 tbsp. Kahlúa, and 2-3 tbsp. hot coffee. Beat until smooth. When cake cools, frost.

Apple Strudel

2009-03-28T06:53:00.000-07:00

I can't take credit for this lovely creation. But I can blog about one of my favorite restaurants, L. Woods Pine Wood Tap. It is located in Lincolnwood, Il, a northern suburb of Chicago.
Today is my birthday. A few nights ago, my girlfriends took me out for my birthday dinner (birthday girl's choice). I picked L. Woods.
As an appetizer, they have these wonderfully thin, crispy flatbreads. We split a roasted tomato, mozzarella, basil. We split a small chopped salad.
One of the specials that night was a chili pepper flecked, breaded tilapia, nestled on a buttery sauce. It was wonderful. I had a sweet potato, big enough to split, that had a cinnamon spiked butter alongside.

The main feature, however, is the dessert. You need to know when you first sit down that you want either the apple strudel or the chocolate molten cake. They make them to order and require 45 minutes. I've never had the chocolate cake, we keep saying we will have to try it! But it is my pick for my birthday, and I just love the apple strudel. The waitress overheard that it was my birthday and brought out scoops of vanilla ice cream with a candle on top. You are served a whole apple strudel with warm caramel sauce to pour on top. The leftovers came home with me.
Oh, and they also have wonderful Inteligensia coffee!!!

Giveaway!

2009-03-25T19:31:00.000-07:00

If you like Corgis especially, here's a neat giveaway....Corgi Butts

I finally have a fan!

2009-03-21T20:07:00.001-07:00

Well, I shouldn't go that far, but I have my first follower of my food blog! Thanks, Donna!

New Recipe, Big Hit!

2009-03-21T19:53:00.000-07:00

I don't do casseroles. I like my meat separate from my starch, separate from my vegetable. I like to taste each portion for what it is. I'm not saying I don't enjoy an occasional mixed dish. I love a good lasagna (I make one!), but, for the most part, I cook pretty uncomplicated stuff.
Today I decided to look through a cookbook I have had for years and never used. It's a Pillsbury One-Dish cookbook. I just wanted to find something that I could make with ingredients I already had on hand.
I found a recipe which called for turkey kielbasa. I happened to have a package of smoked sausage that I needed to use, so decided to give this recipe a try.
So, with variations made to accomodate my ingredients, here's the recipe, which was a hit at my house!
In a little olive oil, saute:
1 chopped onion
1 chopped green or red pepper
Slice length-wise, then slice:
1 lb. package smoked sausage
add to vegetables, continue sauteeing
To this mixture add
14 oz can chopped tomatoes
Italian seasoning
garlic powder
Finally add
1 1/2 cups minute rice
1 cup water
Cover and let cook on low for about 5 more minutes.
Serves 4-6.

Grilled Chicken

2009-03-14T18:13:00.000-07:00

Needed something quick and easy for tonite's dinner. Bought huge boneless/skinless chicken breasts while at Sam's Club. I ended up cutting each in half, they were so forboding.
A quick marinade I use on both chicken and pork has a slight oriental flavor. Soy sauce, minced garlic, oil, ginger, sometimes a little brown sugar and orange zest. I marinaded the chicken for almost an hour, grilled on mom for about 35 minutes (turning over every 10 minutes)
Served tonite with a spinach salad and rice. Enjoyed by all!

Pork Chops Again

2009-03-12T16:43:00.000-07:00

Tonite I made pork chops on the grill, and forgot to butterfly them. they were almost 1" thick, but 9 minutes on each side on mom, and they were perfect. Served with noodles, corn, and salad. Yes, it's only 20 degrees here, but I grill all year!

Pork Chops

2009-03-03T20:08:00.000-08:00

I found nice pork chops on sale yesterday so that's what I planned for dinner tonite.
They were probably 3/4" thick, so after a little debating, I decided to butterfly them. I didn't want to take a chance that they'd be undercooked.
To butterfly, simply use a sharp knife to slice the chop in half, leaving one end intact and folding outwards. At this point, you could also stuff the pork chop, but that would then be an oven-cooked recipe.
My marinade consists of a Tablespoon of olive oil, (peanut or sesame oil would work, too), soy sauce, minced garlic, ginger. I need to pick up some fresh ginger. I've been using the dried powder. I believe I could keep the ginger frozen and use it as needed.
I don't marinade long, the flavor still comes through.
Grill on MOM (medium, low, medium) 8-10 minutes each side. I only did 8, I don't like to dry out pork chops.
Served with salad for me, peas for husband, frozen double-baked potatoes, and applesauce. Very yummy!

Ash Wednesday/Meatless Dinner

2009-02-25T17:30:00.000-08:00

Today is Ash Wednesday. We're not supposed to be eating meat today.

Dinner was easy but good. I had frozen waffles, and made omelettes. Mine was avocado and swiss cheese. Better when I add bacon to it, but....

Satisfying Salad

2009-02-24T17:16:00.000-08:00

I started Weight Watchers in Sept. 2008. I managed to lose 40 lbs. in about 9 months. I've been at a standstill since last summer, but at least I've been able to stay within 5 lbs. throughout the holidays, etc. One of these days I'll kick it back into gear, I'd like to lose another 30 lbs. It will be slow and difficult.

Part of my regimine has been to try to always have a salad with dinner. I was never crazy about salads, but have come to really enjoy them, especially the way I beef them up.

Here's my latest satisfying salad:

Spinach leaves and/or mixed greens probably out of a bag
couple of bottled artichokes
sliced avocado
mushrooms would be nice
hot or mild Italian giardinera (couple spoons, drain the oil)
shredded Parmesan cheese (also out of a bag)
salsa (I like the pineapple salsa from Aldis)
fat free Kraft Catalina or fat free Western dressing
Tablespoon of sour cream
Fresh ground pepper/salt

I think just the little bit of sour cream on top makes this salad taste so rich! Next time I make one (tomorrow?) I'll try to get a picture before I devour it!

Eating a salad before your meal helps curb your appetite.

Monday Reruns

2009-02-23T17:23:00.001-08:00

My daughter missed the burgers last nite, so she asked if we could have them again tonite. Since I bought them from Sam's Club, there were 12 in the package. I had divided them into bags of 3 each and froze the remaining 9 last nite. tonite i took one of the frozen bags and made them on the grill. Have to add a couple extra minutes to the cooking time since they were frozen. Made nice salads again to accompany.

I love to grill!

2009-02-22T19:04:00.000-08:00

I grill all year long. I'm lucky enough to have not one, but two Weber natural gas grills. My first grill, which has stayed out in the elements since I got it probably 13 years ago, started to rust. The bottom shelf fell off. I had some money and decided I neede a new one. I bought a pretty, stainless Weber Genesis. I keep this one covered. I never had the strength to throw the old reliable grill out. I ater decided to keep it to use in the winter. My new grill is safely and warmly tucked into the garage.

So, tonight I made cheeseburgers on the grill. I also had mixed salads, chips for the family and I nuked a sweet potato for myself. Very yummy! Oh, and it's only 20 degrees outside.
This is an exact duplicate of my old grill which I used tonite.

Pork Roast/Crock Pot

2009-02-22T18:40:00.000-08:00

I love my crock pots. They are old, but anything made in a crockpot seems to come out yummy. Yesterday I went to the freezer to see what I had and there was 1/2 of a 6 lb. pork roast.
I defrosted it in the microwave.
My crockpots are both the type that have a separate pot that sits on a warming plate. So, I can put the pot on the stove in order to brown things.
In the pot, on the stove, I browned a chopped onion and couple cloves of garlic in a few teaspoons of bacon grease (oh, yea, I save it) Then I added the defrosted roast and browned both sides.
I added a jar of sauerkraut, sprinkled with caraway seed and 2 tsps. sugar. I added some chunks of raw potato. I happened to have a loaf of German rye bread that I had bought at Aldis. I tore up a piece and placed it on top. Completely experimental.
Let this cook in the slow cooker all day (at least 6 hours on high, 8 on low, or some combination)
I also had in the freezer some frozen bread dumplings. I steamed them in the microwave by putting 5 Tbls water into the plastic bag and put on high for 4-5 minutes. Sliced the meat and all you need to add is a jar of applesauce.
The three of us almost finished the whole thing! It was enjoyed by all!

Note: this picture is from the web, to illustrate what a bread dumpling looks like. This is NOT a picture of my dinner. Next time, I'll take one!

Prologue

2009-02-22T18:24:00.000-08:00

I've always enjoyed baking, and through necessity, now enjoy cooking. Probably partly because I've always enjoyed eating. I learned during my grammar school days from my Aunt Joyce, who is a very good cook and baker, and my grandmother.
I will have to say that I consider myself a pretty good cook. I can easily follow a recipe, but most of the time, when it comes to dinner, I modify and make each recipe my own.
Because I'm always doing things differently, I intend to write things down and never do. So, the purpose of this blog will be for me to note what I've cooked and how it was.