Apple Walnut Cake

A tried and true Betty Crocker recipe, slightly modified by me to reduce sugar and fat.

Apple Cake


1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup of vegetable oil
3 eggs
2 cups minus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I was out, so used cloves instead)
3 peeled, cored and chopped tart apples
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 13 by 9 inch dish with cooking spray. Mix sugar, oil and eggs in large bowl until blended, about one minute. Stir in remaining ingredients except for apples and nuts. Beat 2 minutes. Fold in apples and nuts. Pour into pan (batter will be thick, spread evenly in pan).
Bake until wooden pick inserted comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes.

Blessed with Leftover Ham

Good ham we had yesterday, but a bit much for the two in our family. Will freeze some for sure, and of course, some kind of bean soup with the bone. With Monday being meat night, why not ham. Here is my take on ham and eggs.
Basque Piperade

6 beaten eggs
1/2 lb. ham
1 chopped onion
1 chopped green pepper
2 cloves minced garlic
2 chopped tomatoes
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp. basil leaves
1 tablespoon butter
1 tsp. olive oil

Melt butter and heat oil in a large skillet. Add onion, pepper, and garlic. cook until soft. Add tomatoes and seasoningslet cook down for about 10 minutes. Add ham and heat through. Add eggs but keep them soft, not as in an omlet. Cook till no longer runny.

My Favorite Microwave Recipe - Stuffed Peppers

Doing a late afternoon presentation, so I'm going to make dinner before I leave. This microwave recipe is (of course) easy and nutritious. The stuffing uses bulgur wheat instead of rice. And yes, most kids will not know they are eating something healthy. My then 4yr. old granddaughter helped me make these last summer, and although she didn't want the pepper, she ate all her stuffing.
Stuffed Green Peppers
3/4 cup hot water
1/3 cup bulgur wheat
1 chopped onion
1 tsp. beef bouillon
1/2 tsp. salt
dash of garlic powder
3/4 to 1 lb. ground meat
4 to 6 green peppers, depending on amount of meat you are using
1 small can tomato sauce
Mix water, bulgur onion, bouillon, and salt in 2 quart glass casserole. Cover tightly and microwave on high 6 to 8 minutes. Let stand until water is absorbed, usually 10 minutes. Stem peppers. Remove seeds. You can leave whole or cut in half lengthwise (better for serving youngsters and small appetites). Stir uncooked ground meat and 1/2 can tomato sauce into cracked wheat mixture. Place peppers on glass pie plate Stuff peppers.
Pour remaining sauce over all. Cover with plastic wrap tightly, and microwave on high for 10 minutes or until meat mixture reaches temp of 160. Top with cheese if desired.

It's All Greek to Me

Wednesday is Poultry Day, and I'm in the mood for Greek Chicken and of course a Greek Salad. I go for easy most days. Take ever how many chicken pieces you need and put in roasting pan. Add large-diced potatoes as needed. Throw over this a chopped onion. Mix together in small bowl 1/4 cup olive oil, juice of two lemons, 2 minced garlic cloves, and 2 teaspoons dried oregano. Pour over chicken mixture and toss to coat. Start with 1/2 tsp. of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. I add olives during second half of cooking. Test poultry with meat thermometer. Poultry should be cooked to 165 degrees. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Serve with salad and bread.

Tex-Mex Vegetarian

Going to keep it simple tonight. Scheduled for vegetarian fare. Cheese Quesadillas, Guacamole (freshly made from nearby market), local salsa, chips, Charro Beans (kicked up with a little beer for flavor) and sliced jicama. Jicama is a root vegetable with a texture that resembles an apple but not sweet. Good source of fiber. Peel, cut into sticks, squeeze lime juice over and sprinkle with chili powder.

Short Ribs NRA (new recipe alert)

Received a package of beef short ribs as part of community supported agriculture share. Now I usually let Conrad handle those. He has a wonderful recipe from Giada of the Food Network. Cook all day in red wine and tomatoes. Makes a delicious, RICH sauce to serve over pasta. Didn't want to step on his toes, so I'm using the recipe provided by the CSA newsletter. Easy enough. Put the ribs in a slow cooker, add orange juice, soy sauce, and a tsp. of chille paste. Is smelling very Asian right now. Guess I will steam Chinese dumplings from the freezer and stir-fry some Broccoli, maybe some egg-drop or velvet corn soup to start.

Time to Start Thinking About Grilling

Nice day here. Hubby is grilling center cut pork chops and I am doing sides. Menu: Grilled Pork Chops, Brown Rice and Mushroom Pilaf, Mashed Butternut Squash with a touch of butter and Indiana maple syrup and fresh Steamed Spinach.

Brown Rice Pilaf

3/4 cups of Uncle Ben's converted brown rice
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 minced garlic clove
4 oz. fresh mushrooms
1 15oz. can low-sodium beef broth
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Melt butter in skillet. Add oil. Add chopped veggies and cook until somewhat soft. Turn heat up and add the rice and the 1 1/4 cup of broth (not the whole can). Bring to a boil and transfer to glass baking dish. Cover with foil and place in oven. Check after 20 minutes. Add more broth if necessary. Fluff when rice is cooked.

Pork Chop Dinner for 3
center cut pork chops on sale for $1.79 lb.  $2.90
3/4 cups Uncle Ben converted brown rice. $.38
can of beef broth $.60
onion $.20
4 oz. fresh mushrooms - on sale - $.50
3/4 bag of baby spinach - on sale - $. 75
1 bag of frozen butternut squash (from Whole Foods, an indulgence, great nutrition though) $ 1.79
butter, oil, maple syprup - $.75
Pork Chop Dinner for 3 - less than $8.00
stalk of celery $.10

Seafood on Budget? Yes, and not just canned tuna

I was indulging in a little internet surfing in search of good food blogs. Have been in a rut in the kitchen. Guess that can happen after 38 yrs. of cooking. So my search turned up the cute (healthy recipes along with pictures of George Clooney and puppies), fine, and some were just awful. Maybe I'm jaded, but I wasn't inspired. So to challenge myself and add some structure, I'll do it myself.
Structure is: Mon. - meat, Tues.-vegetarian, Wed. - poultry, Thurs.- ground meat, Fri.- whatever (pizza, Schwan's, leftovers - whatever, Sat. -seafood, and Sun. - another whatever b/c if nice weather Conrad will probably want to grill, or it might rain - whatever.
It is possible to do seafood on a budget if you buy on sale. I treasure the chest freezer we bought 20 yrs. - a great investment. You can still get one for $200 bucks.
The menu: Shrimp and Pasta with grape tomatoes and feta cheese
Spinach Salad with chopped apple, raisins and walnuts, dressed in warmed leftover bacon drippings and splash of salad vinegar (has a bit of malt)

Shrimp Dish
Saute 1/2 pint of grape or cherry tomatoes, halved or poked with a fork in 1tsp. olive oil. Add one clove of minced garlic. Cook until tomatoes are soft. Meanwhile, boil water and add 1/2 box of rotini pasta (or penne). Cook per directions on box, drain. Add thawed shrimp to tomato mixture. Salt and pepper to taste (keep in mind the feta is salty.) A sprinkle of red pepper flakes is nice if you like a little heat. Cook 3 minutes or shrimp is no longer pink. Toss pasta with shrimp mixture and sprinkle feta as desired.

Spinach Salad
For two servings, stem 1/4 bag of baby spinach leaves. Add 1/2 chopped apple, and a handful of walnuts and dried fruit. Dress with warm bacon drippings mixed with salad vinegar.

I shop the sales and stockpile. "Never pay retail".
Shrimp - 1/2 lb. $2.50
1/2 box of pasta - on sale and with a coupon .50
1 garlic clove - .05
1/2 pint of grape tomatoes - an indulgence this time of year- $1.50
Feta cheese sprinkles - .25
1/4 bag of spinach - terrific sale price of $1 - .25
1/2 apple at .88 lb. -.20
handful of nuts and fruit - .25
this serves 2 for $5.50. Could easily double shrimp and pasta and spinach salad to keep seafood night for 4 to $11.

Sounds Strange but African Peanut Butter Stew is GOOD.

Great way to use leftover chicken

African Chicken Peanut Butter Stew

Enough chicken pieces for your family
1 15oz. can of no-salt tomatoes
1 can low sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup peanut butter (I used natural)
salt and pepper to taste
1 chopped onion
1tsp. minced ginger
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp. cayenne (or more to taste, if you prefer more heat. Hot sauce is also good.)
1-2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

Spray dutch oven with cooking spray. Saute onion, garlic and ginger. Add tomatoes, chicken broth and peanut butter. Stir until peanut butter is well mixed. Add chicken pieces, cayenne. Cook until chicken is done. If using leftover chicken, add sweet potatoes now and cook until tender. If using raw chicken, add sweet potatoes after 20 minutes. Add additonal seasonings and salt and pepper to taste.

Corn Chowder will warm you up

With the return of some colder, damper weather, it seemed like a good time to break out the old once a year corn chowder recipe. My first cookbook that I received at age 12 was the Betty Crocker cookbook. Many of its recipes are favorites. My go-to cornbread is from that book. Tried others but...
Anyway, I have modified Betty's recipe over the years. Here is my version with several variations if there are any dietary restrictions.
Corn Chowder
4 slices bacon
1 chopped onion
2 stalks chopped celery
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
salt and pepper to taste
3 cups of milk (see suggestions below)
1 16oz. can cream of corn soup
1-2 cups of frozen corn kernels, depends on how thick and "corny" you want it
1 16oz. can diced potatoes (you could also peel, dice and cook your own potatoes beforehand)
diced green onions for garnish
paprika for nice color
hot sauce if you like it.

Cook bacon till crisp in large dutch oven. Drain off all but 2 tablespoons of the grease. Add onion and celery, cook until soft. Add the flour and stir, allowing the flour to "cook" for 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat, add the milk and whisk till smooth. Return pan to heat, allowing for a slow boil. Add cream of corn, corn kernels, and potatoes. Cook on low for about 15 minutes, stirring often. Taste for seasonings and add more if needed. Serve with crumbled bacon, green onions, and oysters crackers if desired. A sprinkle of paprika adds a nice color and flavor.
Variation suggestions: instead of bacon, you could use vegetable or peanut oil (olive oil not suited).
You could skip the bacon and use a small amount of ham base sold in jars at the store.
I have made this with regular skim milk, but the results were what you would imagine. 2% makes a good chowder. I have also used evaporated skim milk with decent results.

Spoiled and Loving It

So have enjoyed the weekly CSA - fresh local produce, milk and meat. 2 weeks left, so far in the last 10 weeks, we have gotten red leaf lettuce, Kentucky bibb letuce, turnips, carrots, hot house tomatoes, butternut squash, spinach, swiss chard, kale, daichon radishes, popping corn still on the ear, white and orange sweet potatoes, red potatoes, and since produce is now hard to come by, pickles, red and green tomato relishes, chow chow and salsa. The mixed meat share has included two chickens, pork chops, pork spare ribs, beef short ribs, beef and pork roast, 3 different cuts of steak, bacon, italian sausage and breakfast sausage. Wow, what variety! And all tasty. We're hooked and signing up for more! There are many more options including soups, coffee, bread and cow and goat cheese.
One easy recipe where I used the sweet potatoes, and excellent when entertaining your vegetarian friends:

Sweet Potato Frittata

3/4 lbs. sweet potatoes, diced
1 red pepper,diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 onion (preferrably red), diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 eggs, lightly beaten
kosher salt to taste

In small pot, cover sweet potatoes with cold water and bring to a boil. Cook just until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain. Meanwhile, saute the veggies with one tablespoon of the oil until they start to brown, about 5-7 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium. Pour in the eggs and tilt skillet to distribute evenly. cook until the eggs are almost set, 3-4 minutes. Put frittata under the broiler until brown and set on top. Serves 4.