Trying out Deceptively Delicious

Okay so it's been a while (a long while) since I've posted. I was supposed to be doing a comfort food series which totally tanked. Oh well. We've been super busy around here but I have been trying new things, just not posting about them.
Update on the dress project: it's way harder than it looks to make a dress from scratch. I pieced everything together, thought I was almost finished but my fitting keeps coming out wrong. So this project has been put on hold until I gain more patience.
In the meantime I have been working on something a little less complicated. As a shower gift I received Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld. Basically it's a book of normal recipes that add vegetable and fruit purees to normal foods. I've heard good things about it, so once the bear got big enough to start eating table foods, I knew I had to try. So far we've tried french toast, oatmeal (a big hit), grilled cheese, and mac and cheese.
The little man has really enjoyed all the recipes and so have the hubby and me. We've made the oatmeal which uses canned pumpkin several times. Yum!
I knew I wanted to start small when it came to purees, so when cauliflower went on sale I figured it was the time to start.

So here it is, my adventure into purees and the resulting mac and cheese.
The book outlines how to do the puree which is relatively easy so until I have pictures documenting how to do the purees, I'll skip this step.

Here's the mac and cheese recipe.
1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni (I used whole wheat spiral pasta)
Nonstick cooking spray
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. non-fat (skim) milk (I used 2% cause it's what we had)
1/2 c. butternut squash or cauliflower puree
1 1/2. shredded cheddar cheese
4 oz. cream cheese
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. paprika
1/8 tsp. pepper

Cook pasta according to package directions. This is also a good time to defrost your puree if using it from frozen.

My frozen cauliflower puree. I used "Fresh Baby" trays but ice cube trays work too. Five cubes is 1/2 cup.

While the pasta cooks, coat a large saucepan with cooking spray and heat over medium high heat. Add the oil, then the flour, and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture resembles a thick paste but has not browned, 1 to 2 minutes. **Be sure to cook this the whole time suggested. I didn't and the final product tasted to flour-y.

Add the milk and cook, stirring every now and then, until the mixture begins to thicken, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the vegetable puree, cheeses, and seasonings, and stir until the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth. Stir in macaroni and serve warm.

Final creamy product

A few notes, like I said make sure you really follow the step about the flour. All in all the little bear liked it a lot. I fix a lot of mac and cheese for his lunches so I'm really glad I found a recipe that adds a little extra nutrition.

You can judge for yourself, but I think he enjoyed it.

Comfort Food Series: Chicken and Dumplings

So to keep myself motivated to blog bi-weekly if not more frequently, I decided to do a series. And what better thing to write about than food, comfort food!

To start I wanted to do my favorite comfort food: chicken and dumplings. I think everyone has their own variation of this recipe and it's always "the way mom made it." So for me this is the way my mom made and my grandma taught her to make it. It's quite the legacy so you should feel honored that I am sharing this time-honored recipe with the public.

The way my mom cooks is by touch and feel and if she actually has a written recipe, the actual product is probably some variation. This recipe is one that is not written down or at least I sure have never seen a written copy. So again feel honored that you get a written copy!
Here it is my version of Chicken and Dumplings.


What you need:
Leftover whole chicken (still on bones) or 4-6 chicken thighs (raw or cooked)
3-4 cubes chicken bouillon
1 1/2-2 quarts water
Flour
shortening or fat from chicken broth (preferred)
warm chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste

What you do:
There are a few ways to make your broth.
1. Raw chicken: Cook chicken in water with bouillon in crock pot on low all day. Feel free to add your own extra spices such as salt, pepper, fresh or powdered onion. At the end of the day, remove all chicken (meat and bones) from broth and set aside. Run broth through fat separator or something that will remove any bits of bones/meat and allow broth to sink and fat to rise. Leave in fat separator or put in another container. Refrigerate overnight to allow broth sink and fat to harden. Meanwhile, let chicken cool enough to handle. Separate chicken from bones and store chicken. All this can be done same day if desired.
2. Leftover cooked chicken (my preferred method): Using leftover baked chicken, remove as much meat from the bones as possible without completely dismantling the chicken. Place chicken in large stock pot and cover with water. Add bouillon. Cover and let simmer for 2-3 hours until chicken and bones separate. Remove meat and bones from broth. Run broth through fat separator and remove usable meat from bones. No need to store broth if using right away.
*If you don't want the hassle of making your own broth simply buy ready to eat chicken and canned broth.

Now that you have both broth and chicken, get to work on the dumplings.
Boil broth in large pot. Broth needs to be a full rolling boil before adding dumplings.
Dump about 1 c. flour in a mixing bowl. (1 c. of flour makes about 6 servings of dumplings) Cut in shortening or chicken fat from top of broth and make a course crumble. (Using the chicken fat instead of shortening gives the dumplings more flavor and you use all of your resources). Add enough warm broth to form a soft, elastic dough. Dough will be fairly sticky. Put half of dough on lightly floured surface. Need very gently so that dough maintains elasticity and softness. Roll out thin into rectangle.

 

Using a butter knife, cut into 1" strips. 

 

Cut in half.

 

Gently take strip. Stretch slightly and drop into boiling pot of broth.

Repeat with other half of dough. Let dumplings cook 5-7 minutes in boiling broth.

To thicken your "sauce" take about 1/4 cup of broth from the pot and whisk in 1/4-1/2 c. flour depending on how thick you want it and how much liquid you have. Return mixture to pot and allow to cook over medium heat. Be careful not to keep on too high of heat or dumplings will stick. Cook until desired thickness.

And that's it. This was surprisingly harder to put on 'paper' than I anticipated. Chicken and dumplings is one of those recipes I grew up making and I've never really thought about how to actually do it. I really hope I haven't missed any steps!

*Next post: Hamburgers with homemade buns!

A cup of cocoa for a rainy day

A rainy day calls for a cup of cocoa but alas I had no mix in the house. So it's time to make my own. I found this very simple recipe and am currently enjoying it.
2 Tbs. baking cocoa
2 Tbs. Sugar
1/4 c. water
2 c. milk
dash of cinnamon
mini marshmallows
Blend sugar and cocoa in saucepan. Add water until smooth. Heat until boiling, stirring constantly. Add milk and heat through. Pour into mugs, add marshmallows, and enjoy. Makes 2 servings.
Enjoy!

Simply Applesauce

Another day another new homemade recipe. I've been wanting to make my own applesauce for a while and decided today was the day.

4 lbs. apples, cored and quartered (I used some older apples that were too soft for eating or pies)
1 c. water
Cinnamon to taste
Sugar to taste (optional)

Put apples and water in a large pot. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, simmer, covered, for 25-30 minutes until very tender, stirring a few times.
Press apples through a food mill. Return pulp to kettle. Stir in sugar if desired. Add additional 1/2-1 cup water for desired consistency if needed. Boil. Remove from heat.

I chose not to add sugar simply because I like my applesauce a little more tart. Also if using overripe apples, you shouldn't need much sugar. The best part about this recipe is that you can use it for baby food, just leave out the cinnamon and sugar.

Homemade Tomato Soup

In my quest to less dependent on pre-made foods I decided to make my own tomato soup. It's one of my favorite soups to pair with a sandwich. We had ours with a turkey club. Yum!

2 can diced tomatoes, undrained (or use fresh tomatoes diced)
1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste
1 tsp. minced garlic or 2 cloves minced
2 dashes salt
pepper to taste
2 dashes basil
1 dash parsley
1 1/2 dash celery seed
2 Tbs. sugar
2 c. milk
2 dashes onion powder
more salt and pepper to taste

Combine 1st eight ingredients in large sauce pan. Heat on medium-low heat, uncovered, 30 minutes. Process through a food mill or food processor for creamier soup (omit step for chunky soup). *I prefer using a food mill because it will remove the seeds and skins rather than chop them up like the food processor.* Return to pot and add sugar. Cook until sugar is blended on medium-low heat. Add milk and remaining spices, heat through.
If using this as a freezer meal, don't add the milk or other spices. From frozen, let thaw, add milk and spices and heat through.

Creamy Yogurt

So last year I started straining my yogurt. Sounds strange I know but it makes for extra creamy yogurt. Simply line a colander with 1-2 coffee filters and place it inside a larger bowl. Then dump your container of yogurt (usually plain or vanilla) in the colander. Place in the refrigerator for a few hours. Depending on how much excess water is in your brand of yogurt you'll either be left with a puddle of water in the bowl or just wet coffee filters. Pour your extra creamy yogurt back into its original container and enjoy your better, creamier yogurt.

Soup's in the Pot

In an attempt to be resourceful and use ingredients I have on hand rather than purchase groceries for a specific recipe, I made "Ham and Bean Soup" for dinner tonight. I started with this recipe but made a few changes to my liking and to reflect the contents of my pantry. The first and most important step is to cook a whole, in bone ham a few days prior. When you carve up the ham make sure to leave a good 1 1/2-2 inches of meat on the bone. So here's the recipe I ended up using. WARNING: It makes a lot! (Which is why I plan to freeze about half of what's left.)

• 1 package (20 ounces) 15-bean soup mix
• 5 quarts water, divided
• 1 meaty ham bone
• 1 cup chopped green pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup sliced carrots
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
• 2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies

Rinse dry beans and place in a Dutch oven with 3 qts. of water. Bring to a boil; boil for 3-5 minutes. Remove from the heat; cover and let stand for 1 hour.

Drain and rinse beans.  Return to pan; add remaining water and everything but the tomatoes and green chilies. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 2-1/2 to 3 hours or until beans are almost tender. Remove ham bone. Remove as much meat as you can and return meat to pot.

Add tomatoes and chilies; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Serve with cornbread. Yum!  Yield: 18 servings (4-1/2 quarts).

Word to the wise, I let the beans sit in the water too long and the lentils pretty much fell apart. Still tasted good, but a little mushy.

New Recipe Success

So part of my Sam's purchasing was a large container of ricotta cheese to use to make lasagna. After making two lasagnas, one for freezing and one for eating now, I had just a little ricotta left over. I wasn't sure what to do with it so I went to my favorite recipe website and found a recipe for Lemon Ricotta Pancakes. Now Jarrod's not much of a pancake eater but I thought what the heck if it's awful he won't eat it and if it's good he'll eat at least one.


Something I've discovered, a little late at times, is that I really should gather all my ingredients first and group them by wet and dry ingredients.

So after gathering what I needed I first combined the wet ingredients, then added the dry. The recipe actually asks you to mix the two separately but I don't like to dirty too many things so I mix the wet then put all the dry in the bowl, swirl the dry stuff together, then mix with the wet.

Now onto the griddle and time to eat! The true measure of success with this recipe is that Jarrod who doesn't like pancakes declared them delicious and ate three of them!

I found them best with a side of bacon and topped with powdered sugar. The pancakes were moist enough that syrup wasn't needed.