Lentil and Rice salad

I'm part of a quilt group that meets monthly and at the end of our morning meetings we have a pot luck lunch.

One of our members can't eat anything with wheat, so I've been trying to come up with recipes that she can eat too.

This one was what I took this month, and I really like it, so I thought I would share the recipe here.

Ingredients:
For Salad
3 cups water
1 cup dry lentils
1/2 cup long grain rice (note: I used basmatti, brown rice would NOT work here without serious cook time changes)
1/2 cup chopped red pepper
1/2 cup finely diced carrot
1/4 cup sliced green onion (or finely diced red onion)
1 cup diced tomatoes (I used a can of ready cuts)
lettuce leaves

For dressing
4 Tbls olive oil
4 Tbls lemon juice
2 tsp snipped fresh basil or 1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp salt

Preparation:
Rinse and drain lentils.

Transfer lentils to a medium saucepan and add water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer with the lid on for 5 minutes.

Add uncooked rice, cover and simmer 15 minutes more.

Remove pan from heat and let stand for 10 minutes.

Drain, rinse with cold water and let drain again.

In large bowl, combine lentil/rice mixture, red pepper, carrots, onions and tomatoes.

For dressing, mix together in a jar or plastic shaker: olive oil, lemon juice, salt and basil. Shake well.

Pour dressing over salad, stir gently to coat.

Chill for 4 to 24 hours (like many of these kind of salads, it improves with time to "meld")

Serve on lettuce leaves (a romaine leaf with some of the salad rolled inside is a tasty "salad burrito")

In defense of Jello

Its summer

Its HOT

we're on low fat diet

we're on a low sugar diet

we need a salad

we need a desert


what's the answer?

JELLO!!

now just plain jello (especially RED jello) is a staple in the winter when one of us has a "bug" of some sort, and that's not what I'm talking about here

I'm talking about using jello as the base for some wonderfully cool salads/deserts that hit the spot when its hot

and I'm not talking about just the brand name stuff either -- my grandmother used to swear by Royal -- now days I buy whatever is the least expensive, and I recommend you do like wise!!

Here then are some of my favorite jello concoctions:


Lime Jello #1

1 pkg lime jello
1 small can crushed pineapple
1 cup low fat cottage cheese
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

drain the pineapple (I usually drink the juice as a "cook's treat" when I do this)
mix jello according to package directions
add other ingredients
chill


Lime Jello #2

1 pkg lime jello
1 small can pear chunks

drain the pears
prepare jello according to package directions
add pears
chill


Orange Jello #1

1 pkg orange jello
1 small can mandarin oranges

drain oranges
prepare jello
add oranges
chill


Orange Jello #2

1 pkg orange jello
2 medium carrots
1/2 cup raisins

grate carrots
prepare jello
add carrots and raisins
chill


Tomato Aspic (Lemon Jello)

1 pkg lemon jello
1 8 ounce can tomato sauce
1/2 tsp worchestershire sauce
1/4 cup finely chopped celery (optional)
1 cup cooked salad shrimp

prepare jello by substituting the tomato sauce for the cup of cold water specified on the jello package
add all other ingredients
chill


Anybody got any other versions?

Key Lime Pie

In the summer there's no better desert than a tart/sweet key lime pie -- and the best part of this one is that you don't have to go anywhere near that oven!

This little beauty was whipped up by my daughter for a "we're defrosting grandma's freezer" party that we had recently, so I thought I'd share it!


Easy Key Lime Pie

1 graham cracker crust (you could make this from scratch, but why?)
4 ounces key lime juice (you can use just regular lime juice, it just won't be as tart, and no you don't have to squeeze those limes, you can buy a little bottle of the stuff)
1 can sweetened condensed milk (the low fat stuff should work just as well as the "high test", just be sure its condensed, evaporated won't do it)
1 tub of cool whip (not the extra hugh size, just a regular tub)
green food color if you feel the need to make it look green

With your electric mixer, whip together the lime juice and the condensed milk (and the food color if you're going there) until well mixed.

Fold in cool whip

Pour into cracker crust

Chill for at least one hour before cutting

Enjoy!!

Fisherman Style Fish Dish

We've been trying to eat healthy, and one of the things we're trying to do at least weekly is eat some kind of fish.

In our last batch of food from Shares we got a 1 pound package of Pollack fillets.

Last night the DH turned it into a great dinner (and we have enough left over to reheat for a quick meal another night)

This is a fisherman style baked fish dinner, and I cooked up some brown rice that we poured some of the sauce over as a side dish.

Ingredients:
1 rib of celery, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbls olive oil
1 large (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 tbls fresh basil, cut fine
1 tsp tarragon
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tbls parsley
1 lb firm flesh white fish (we've done this with Pollack, tilapia, halibut)

In a skillet, sauté the celery, pepper, onion and garlic in the olive oil until soft.

Add tomatoes and seasoning and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Place fish in a single layer in baking dish (we used the glass lasagna pan) and pour sauce over it.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Macaroni and Cheese

I usually think of this as more of a winter time dish, mostly because it requires turning on the oven, but my daughter recently requested the recipe, so here it is.

There is no real good way to make this a low fat meal -- you can use low fat milk, but there is no substitute for really good sharp cheddar cheese -- so just think of this as a "splurge" and forgive yourself!

For some reason elbow macaroni is the traditional pasta to use for this -- its just one of those "we've ALWAYS done it that way" things, but it can be done equally well with medium or small shell pasta -- you want something that the sauce will cling to.

You'll want to adjust what sort of pan you bake this in based on your family's preference. At our house we like the crusty edges, so I bake in a fairly thin layer in a pyrex pan -- the same one I cook lasagna in -- lots of crusty edges -- yum! If you're not so into the crusty parts, a round pyrex backing dish works too.

So here's the recipe:

2 c raw elbow macaroni
2 c shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 1/2 c milk
2 tbls flour
2 tbls butter
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp yellow mustard

Cook macaroni following package directions -- don't overcook

Melt butter in sauce pan, add flour to form roux -- let it cook a little bit to take out the raw flour taste

Whisk in milk, worcestershire sauce and mustard. Continue stirring until sauce begins to thicken.

Stir about 2/3 of shredded cheese into sauce and continue stirring until the cheese melts.

Drain macaroni and return to cooking pot. Pour cheese sauce over macaroni and mix well.

Pour sauced macaroni into greased baking pan, top with remaining shredded cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes

Enjoy!!

Quitata? Friche?

This is not really a fritata -- its in a crust.

And its not really a quiche -- it has flour in it and a lot less cheese

Either way, its pretty guilt free for those of us on low fat diets, it tastes great either warm or cold, it looks beautiful, and it makes a wonderful breakfast or lunch (with a green salad as a side dish!)

For those of you that aren't watching the fat as closely as I am, I've included a "real egg" amount along with the other ingredients

Ingredients:

recipe for 1 crust pie crust (to be honest here, we use one of the refridgerated rolled ones from the grocery -- they taste as good as any we make at home!)

1/3 cup bacon bits (about 6 slices of bacon)
1 1/2 cup egg substitute (or 6 "real" eggs)
3/4 cup frozen cut spinach -OR- broccoli
1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tomato

Process:

Cut the bacon into 1/2 inch dice. Fry until crisp and drain well. Set aside to cool.

Rinse the spinach in warm water. Press into a sieve to remove liquid. Set sieve on a terry cloth towel to wick away any additional water. (if using broccoli, rinse and drain, cut into small pieces and set aside)

Line pie tin with crust.

Mix together the eggs, salt and flour - blend well.

Add cheese, cooled bacon and prepared spinach (or broccoli) and mix well.

Slice the tomato into thin slices.

Pour mixture into pie pan, decorate top with tomato.

Bake in preheated 450 degree oven for 30 minutes or until a table knife inserted close to the middle comes out clean.

Cool for 5 minutes before cutting.

Enjoy!

Chow Mien

In our effort to "eat healthy", we've been working out some new recipes.

This one was quite tasty! The hardest part is actually the prep time as the cooking takes only about 10 minutes --- the slicing and dicing took about half an hour


This would easily feed four, or be one dinner for two and two lunches that would easily reheat in the microwave


1/2 pound lean pork or chicken thigh meat
3 medium size carrots
4 ribs of celery
1 red or green pepper
5 green onions
6 to 8 medium mushrooms
1 cup mung bean sprouts (or 1 14 oz can)
1 5 oz can bamboo shoots
1 5 oz can water chestnuts
2 tsp corn starch
1 cup chicken broth
3 Tbls soy sauce
2 Tbls peanut oil
2 packages raman noodles (throw the sauce packets away)



Prep:
slice the meat into thin slices (tip: its easier to slice really thin if the meat is partially frozen, so if its fresh, put it in the freezer for about an hour and a half before this step -- a really sharp knife helps too)

In a sealable container or a zip bag, put the corn starch and the meat -- toss well to coat all the surfaces

Slice the carrots and the celery on the diagonal into thin pieces

Cut pepper into strips

Cut green onions into pieces about 2 inches long

Slice the mushrooms

Drain the canned veggies

Mix the soy sauce and the chicken broth together


Cooking:
Put pan of water for cooking raman noodles on heat to bring to a boil (water should be boiling before you start cooking the meat and veggies)

In a large heavy saute pan (or a wok if you have one), heat 1 tbls of the peanut oil. Cook the meat quickly, keep it moving and do not over brown. Remove meat from pan.

Add second tbls of oil to pan. Starting with the carrots and celery, add veggies to pan. After about a minute add peppers, onions and mushrooms. After another minute, add canned veggies and return meat to the pan. Stir to mix well.

Pour broth/soy sauce mixture over pan, cover.

Drop noodles into boiling water.

After 3 minutes, remove from heat.

Serve veggie mix over raman noodles.

Just one more thought about using chicken instead of pork – using toasted sesame oil instead of peanut oil – the taste just seems to go together!

Green Chili

This is one of those recipes that is very like the old style cookbooks -- a list of ingredients, a set of techniques, and every time it comes out different!

My husband makes this, and for quite a long time my daughter has wanted us to "write it down!", so last night, as he was putting it together, I took notes.

We like our green chili on the mild side, but if you like it hotter, add a hotter pepper to the mix.

As I said, its different every time -- largely because the peppers vary, so just in time for Cinco de Mayo, here ya go:


1 to 1 1/2 lbs pork steak -- you want something with some fat in it and bones are okay too
1 pasilla pepper
1 yellow hot pepper
1 green bell or anaheim pepper
1 medium onion
1 clove garlic
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (or dice fresh ones if you've got lots)
1 10 oz can tomatoes with peppers (we've used Hatch brand recently)

Trim the fat and bones from the pork and put them in a large heavy pan (we use a big saute pan) to render out the fat -- use a medium high heat and watch that they don't burn

Cut the pork meat into bite sized cubes

When the fat and bones have rendered (you know, they are that dark brown, crunchy consistancy -- yummy but still bad for you, but we eat them anyway!), remove from the pan.

Drain off most of the grease and put meat chunks into the pan to brown

Clean peppers and cut into pieces -- chunks, not tiny bits, dice onion and garlic

When the meat is browned, remove from pan and add peppers and onion, saute until the onion is translucent, then add the garlic

Return pork to the pan and stir in the tomatoes

Simmer over medium low heat for 45 minutes to a hour

This stuff is great in a bowl with a tortilla on the side or over burritos as a "smother" sauce, and the left overs are even better than the stuff is the first night!

No Bake Cookies

This blog started out as my postings of recipes that my daughter (and other family members) requested, but we're going to do a reversal today.

This recipe is one my daughter makes and has been a real hit at work for her.

Note added: I recently got to taste a batch of these made with Almond Butter, and they were great!! Give it a try.

2 c sugar
1/2 c margarine
1/4 c cocoa powder (unsweetened)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c milk
1/2 c peanut butter (chunky is really good here)
3 c quick oats (not the old fashioned ones)

Mix sugar, cocoa, milk and margarine in a sauce pan. Heat on medium, stirring constantly until boiling.

Pull from heat, mix in vanilla and let cool for one minute

Stir in peanut butter and oatmeal to combine completely

Drop by spoonfuls on silpat, wax paper or parchment and let cool (these take about 24 hours to be really fully set up)


Yummy! (thanks for the contribution to the cook book kid!!)

A new feature here in Hattie's Kitchen

You might notice that over there on the right hand side there are Labels

yes folks, through some "fiddlin' around", I have figured out how to create an index for you -- to help in the search for a specific kind of recipe

How about that!!

Enjoy

Mammy's Scotch Scones

This recipe came from my grandmother.

I remember her making these and cutting them into long triangles. I don't know if that was the traditional shape, or if she just did them that way.

My daughter asked for this recipe, so here ya go


2 c flour
4 tsp baking powder
2 tbls sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 c milk

sift the dry ingredients together

add milk and mix well

roll out 1/2 inch thick and cut until no scraps are left (like I said, she used to cut long triangles)

cook at 300 degrees on ungreased cookie sheet for 30 to 35 minutes -- they should be LIGHT brown -- don't over cook

especially good with jam or honey


you could also add currents, raisins or any other dried fruit (as long as it is cut into really small pieces)

Skillet Suppers

My daughter requested that I find and post a recipe that was pretty much a once every couple of weeks staple back in the day when we were all out of the house all day every day.

This has lots of possible variations, so bear with me here as I explain all of them.

The big joy of this is you can create the entire meal in ONE skillet, and the left overs reheat wonderfully for a lunch (if there are any left overs!)

Here's the recipe:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, or 4 small porkchops (about 1 pound)
1 can cream of mushroom, cream of chicken or cream of celery soup
1 1/2 cup water
2 cups of instant rice, uncooked
1 package of frozen peas, brocolli or mixed veggies

In a large skillet, heat a small amount of oil (just enough to keep meat from sticking). Brown the meat/chicken on both sides, then cover and cook for about 5 minutes or until meat/chicken is nearly done.

Remove from skillet to a plate. Pour soup and water into the skillet and bring to a boil.

Add the rice and the vegetable and mix well.

Return meat/chicken to skillet, cover and cook on low heat for 5 minutes or until rice has absorbed most of the liquid.

See, simple, quick, delish!!

Nothing to be trifled with

This post could be sub headed: "when life gives you lemons, make lemonaid"!

The original plan was to make a quarter sheet cake and decorate it like a sheet of music (you know, lines and notes) with a spray of roses over it.



Alas, when I attempted to take the cake out of the pan, it did THIS!!

ACK!! Well, now, what can one do with a cake that looks like that?

All hope of a smooth finish for piping musical notes onto was dashed. (We could say the air was a "trifle" blue)



This however, was the "fix" -- and an excuse to use a bowl that was a wedding gift that I've used now (maybe) 3 times -- a good thing perhaps!

At any rate, here's how I put this tasty treat together


Trifle

1 boxed white cake mix
1 large package instant vanilla pudding
1 pint strawberries
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 pint blackberries
1 can whipped cream

Prepare cake per package instructions. When it has cooled completely, cut into 1 inch cubes and spread out on cutting board to dry slightly (I let mine stand for about 24 hours)

Mix instant pudding per package directions and chill.

Clean strawberries and cut in quarters. Sprinkle sugar over the berries and allow to combine for at least 4 hours.

To create trifle arrange in deep glass bowl in the following layers:

1/2 of cake cubes
1/2 of pudding
1/2 of strawberries and blackberries

repeat layers second time

top with whipped cream

garnish with a few whole berries if desired


This would also be excellent done with chocolate cake, chocolate pudding and fresh raspberries (leave out the sugar)

If you don't have a trifle bowl, a small glass punch bowl would work well, or these could be done as individual deserts in wine glasses

Meat Loaf

I've had a request for my favorite meatloaf recipe, so here it is:

½ medium onion, chopped fine (or use green onions or shallots – shallots are my favorite)
1 tsp beef soup base (I use the kind that comes in a jar and must be refrigerated after opening)
1/3 c hot water
2 eggs OR ½ c egg substitute
½ c ketchup
1 ½ c oatmeal

Mix those 6 ingredients together in a large bowl and let stand for 5 minutes so the oatmeal can absorb the liquid

Add to mixture 2 to 3 pounds of quality ground meat. I have used lamb, pork, veal and venison in combination with beef to make successful meatloaves.

Combine well (use your hands!!), form a loaf and put in pan. I have used a 9x12 cake pan with a rack and an iron skillet as pans from time to time

Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 ½ hours (I like my meatloaf DONE, not pink in the middle, and at about a hour into baking I usually check it by cutting it in half at the thickest part)

I should also add that if you want to take an even less complex approach, get a package of dry onion soup mix to replace the first two ingredients!

This is great hot, makes wonderful sandwiches afterwards. One of my favorite "sandwiches" with it is to roll a strip of meatloaf and a strip of cheese in a flour tortilla and warm it in the microwave --- mmmmmm, yummy!!

High Test Chocolate Cake

For some reason, we still seem to be stuck on cake!

This one, unlike the ones with buttercream frosting, is so easy that anyone can frost it!

This reminds me of the cake we got at the upscale restaurants we used to eat in in the San Francisco Bay Area -- a very thin slice is PLENTY!

Before making this one, make sure you have room to keep it in your fridge -- it has a lot of dairy in it and dairy going bad does not make for good eating!


High Test Chocolate Cake

8 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate
1 package chocolate cake mix (2 layer size)
1 package instant chocolate pudding (4 serving size)
1 cup egg substitute (or 4 whole eggs)
8 ounces sour cream or IMO
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup water
8 ounces frozen whipped topping

Heat oven to 350 degrees

Prepare 2 8 or 9 inch round cake pans

Chop 2 ounces of the baking chocolate and set aside (HINT: use a large serrated knife and a cutting board for this job)

In bowl of mixer (or large bowl if using a hand mixer) combine cake mix, pudding mix, egg substitute, sour cream, vanilla, oil and water. Mix on low speed until combined, then mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. (This will be a thicker than usual batter for cake.)

Stir in the chopped chocolate and spread into cake pans.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes -- test with a toothpick to be sure they are done!

Cool in the pans on wire rack for 10 minutes, then turn cakes out on rack and let cool completely.

To frost: chop remaining 6 ounces of chocolate. In a microwave safe bowl, combine frozen whipped topping and the chocolate. Microwave on HIGH for 1 1/2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds (or until chocolate is completely melted). Stir well until smooth. Let stand for 15 minutes. (This will be thinner than usual frosting.)

If necessary, trim the tops of both cakes to level.

Place one cake, bottom side down on cake plate. Spread about 1/4 of the frosting mix over the top. Place second cake bottom side up on top of first cake. Pour remaining icing onto cake, spreading from the top over the sides until entire cake is covered.

Refrigerate.

Cut in SMALL pieces (cake should be about 18 servings)-- a serrated blade works best on this cake

It has a wonderful fudgy texture.


In the time honored tradition here at Hattie's Kitchen, we never met a recipe we couldn't think of ways to "tweek", so here are some other ideas:

serve with a drizzle (or a pool!) of fresh raspberry puree

replace the 1/2 cup of water with 1/2 cup of strong coffee

or: instead of chocolate cake mix and pudding mix, use a white cake and french vanilla pudding and follow the rest of the recipe as above


Let me know what you think!!

Yule Log for Dinner

After months of making a cake a week to practice for the wedding, I haven't baked a cake since THE CAKE back in August.

With Christmas fast upon us, I decided that a cake for the celebration would be in order, so I decided to try doing a Yule Log -- my own variation.

I used a plain white cake mix (ok, I confess, it was one of the boxes left from the wedding!), and baked it in a jelly roll pan.

The tricky thing with jelly roll cakes is that you must deal with the rolling part as soon as they come out of the oven otherwise they just break if you try to roll them.

So, as soon as the cake came out of the oven I dusted it with powdered sugar, covered it with a clean tea towel, inverted a rack over the top and flipped the whole "sandwich" over.

After removing the pan, I slid the rack out and peeled off the parchment from the bottom of the cake.

Next I quickly brushed the cake with liquified raspberry jam and using the towel as an aid, rolled the cake gently into a log shape. I kept it wrapped in the towel and put it in the refridgerator overnight.



Next morning, I trimmed the ends then cut a diagonal piece off one end of the cake so I could put a "branch" on one side.

I used some of the frosting to "attach" the branch, then frosted the whole thing.


One of the nice things about doing a cake that you want to look like bark is you can skip the whole "it has to be perfectly smooth" step and go directly from slapping on the frosting to using this cute little tool to make the "bark" ridges.

If you don't have one of these, you can cut a piece of cardboard for a one time use one (and actually you could get a lot more variations if you do that).




Since I had a lot of roses left over from the wedding cake, I decided to use roses and poinsettias (I had done those in cake class) then added rose leaves and pine as the decorations.

When I got all done, I sprinkled the whole thing with luster dust (edible glitter) for that "just snowed on" look.

On the whole I'm pretty pleased with the look of this and with the fact that it didn't take me all day (just over an hour), so I haven't lost "the touch" -- guess I'll have to do some cake thing every 3 or 4 months just to keep my hand in.....

Merry Christmas!!

Mashed Potato Tutorial

Mashed potatoes are a staple cooking technique that every home cook should be able to do.

Yes, I know there are those tubs in the refridgerator section of the grocery store that will try to lure you in with the instant gratification of just "heat and serve".

Worse yet are those bags of dry flakes in among the canned goods --- "instant mashed potatoes" --- only in a dire emergency folks! They are good to add to soups for thickening and for some other things, but not to serve in a bowl bare naked.

Nothing tops a really well prepared batch of mashed potatoes from SCRATCH!

So, in response to requests, here is a tutorial on how to do this.

Good mashed potatoes begin with good potatoes! (Ok, DUH, it seems so obvious) Here it helps to know about potatoes. When I was a kid (back in the "dark ages"), there were White Rose potatoes, Red potatoes, Baking potatoes, New potatoes -- but there were no Gold potatoes or Blue potatoes. You can make mashed potatoes from any variety, and which you use will largely depend on what you find in the store where you are and what you like (and at our house, which one is on sale).










Red, White and Gold potatoes have a somewhat "waxier" and firmer texture. The skins of these kind of potatoes are smooth and really thin. A lot of these look almost round. Blue ones fit in this catagory too, I personally just can't get my head around the idea of blue mashed potatoes. If you want to give it a try though, I can't think of any good reason to say no (someone let me know if you do this, I'd love to see the pictures!)



Baking potatoes are generally used for -- well, baking -- but they make excellent mashed potatoes too, and they need to cook less time. These potatoes are more of what most of us think of as "potato shaped" and the skins have a rougher feel to them.

Either way, just pick good firm ones, and if you're going to buy a whole plastic bag full, give that bag a real looking over. Don't buy one that looks wet on the inside. And give it a sniff too -- it should smell like good clean dirt -- you'll know a bad one when you smell it -- and unless you really want to make your own vodka in your kitchen, don't buy those. Stay away from potatoes that have a greenish tint to the skin -- those haven't been stored properly, and they won't taste as good.

Generally I try to find large, regularly shaped ones with no cuts or black spots on them. The shape helps when peeling, and you just have to throw away all of those areas that are already damaged, so don't pay for that and take it home.

When doing mashed potatoes, there are some other ingredients that you will need. They are: salt, butter and milk (you'll also need water, but I'm assuming here that you've got indoor working plumbing)

And then there are the tools -- two different sets of tools for the two stages of this process.



These are the tools needed for prep and cooking:
*potato peeler of your choice (this is not absolutely necessary, my grandmother used to peel potatoes with a paring knife, but I don't recommend it)
*a good sharp knife (my favorite is a small chef style) the important thing is that its long enough to cut through the length of the potato in one stroke so you aren't "hacking" at them
*a large pan for cooking with a lid (the more potatoes you're cooking, the bigger the pan needs to be. Don't try to crowd them, they don't come out as well)
*a section of newspaper (even if you have a good garbage disposal, potatoe peels are notorious for plugging up the plumbing, so unless you have a plumber instantly available and want to spend a couple of hours dealing with backed up sinks and mopping, just don't go there. Besides, potatoe peelings are a great addition to your compost bin!)



And this is the set for the mashing part:
*potato ricer -- this is the tool with the flat bottom that has holes in it
*hand mixer and beaters -- you can make mashed potatoes without this step, but there will probably be lumps, and its harder to make the whole batch consistant



A lot of you will have seen this tool and perhaps believe this is the way to mashed potatoe nirvana, but don't be fooled -- it will only produce a pale shadow of the lovely consistant texture that a ricer will, so you'll have to work harder with your mixer, but it will do in a pinch. (You DESERVE a good ricer! Go find yourself one!)

Step One


Peel the potatoes.

Here you can see the pile of peelings on the newspaper all ready to go out.



and here are the peeled potatoes in the pan waiting for the next step.


Step Two


Cut up the potatoes.

Cutting the potatoes into pieces is good for two reasons:

1. they will cook quicker and more evenly if they are cut into pieces that are roughly all the same shape

2. its easier to mash them if the pieces you start with are smaller to begin with



I usually slice the potato in half down the length of the potatoe, then cut them into about 4 pieces across so I have 8 half "circles" of potato from each medium potatoe.

The main thing is that it leaves each piece about 3/4 of an inch thick.

Step Three


Cover the potatoes with water.

Some people will tell you that you have to start with really cold water, but I think that as long as the water isn't warmer than the potatoes are at the start you'll be ok.

Using water that is a lot warmer than the potatoes are at the beginning may turn them dark brown which is pretty disgusting. That's why you start the water heating with the potatoes in it instead of boiling the water and adding the potatoes afterwards like you do with pasta.

Notice there is head room in the pan for nice boiling without trashing your stove top with water and potatoe starch.



Add salt.

Yes, this is REQUIRED!

There's nothing worse tasting than a flat, unsalted potato, and if you try to add the salt after they are cooked, it takes a lot more salt to do the same job. There's something about the whole cooking process that makes the entire batch take on just the right amount of taste from the salting.

Personally I use sea salt because I like the taste, and you actually get less sodium than from other kinds.

Step Four

Put your pan on the biggest burner on the stove that the pan covers (this makes the most efficent use of the energy you're using to do the cooking), put on the lid and turn the burner up to high.

When the potatoes come to a boil, turn down the burner so they continue to bubble, but not so low that it is only a simmer -- you're not making soup, you want these to cook fairly quickly but not make a huge mess on your stove.

Here's where the cooking instruction gets less precise -- you cook these until they are done.....here at over 6000 feet in elevation it takes about 20 to 25 minutes from the time I put the pan on the stove until they are done, but this all depends upon what your elevation is, what variety of potato you used, how warm the water and potatoes were when you started, how small you cut the pieces -- you get the idea.



Here's how I test to see if they are done.

Use a regular table fork and insert it into the middle of a piece of potatoe. If they are done the fork will go in easily and the potato will split into two pieces, leaving the little "fork marks" when it does.

If this doesn't happen, give them a few more minutes and test again.

If it does, its time to drain -- PRONTO! Don't leave fully cooked potatoes sitting in the water or you will have potato soup!! Drain them right away.

CAUTION! Draining a lot of boiling water out of a pan of potatoes can be a scalding hazard. If you are at all unsure, use your colander in the sink and pour the whole batch of potatoes and water into it, then put the potatoes back in the pan to move on to the next step.


Step Five

Set the pan on the counter on a hotmat or a folded towel.

Add butter. This is largely a "to taste" issue. In the pictures here, I had 5 medium potatoes and I used about 3 tablespoons of butter.

Cut the butter into chunks and drop it into the pan and put the lid back on.

While you're getting out the mixer and the milk, the butter will be melting, which makes it easier to mix into the batch than trying to mash really cold chunks.



Using your ricer (or the masher if you haven't gone out for that ricer yet), break the potatoes into fine pieces.

The smaller the better for the next step.

Step Six


Using your hand mixer on a medium speed, start beating up the potatoe (and butter) pieces.

Add just enough milk to make the mixture smooth. For those 5 medium potatoes that I did in this batch I used about 1/4 to 1/3 cup milk.

A lot of the "how much milk" depends on rather you used one of those "wax-y" potatoes, or a baking potato. The baking potatoes will need less milk.



When you are done, the whole batch should look smooth.

TA DA!


At our house potatoes always went in an oval bowl, but whatever you serve them in, you can do it with pride!!

ENJOY!!

Potato Lovers Unite!

I have yet to find a recipe that includes potatoes that I don't like.

My dad will eat potatoes 3 meals a day and a couple more thrown in for snacks! It must be the Irish blood in us.

And from time to time, my Irish heritage meets something from my husband's background and we have a perfect match. So it is with this recipe.....a match made in potato heaven....

The title of this recipe comes from the tradition among Latter Day Saints of having a meal at the church after a funeral that is provided by the good sisters of the ward. Usually these funeral dinners include baked ham, a green salad, a jello salad (or two or three), rolls and butter and this recipe (or one of its variations).



And so, today we have the famous

Funeral Potatoes


The pictured recipe is just half of what the full recipe makes, and I took some other liberties as well -- all described below.


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9 x 13 glass pan with Pam.

In a mixing bowl combine the following:
1 24 ounce bag of hash browns
2 cans cream of chicken soup (or cream of mushroom)
2 cups sour cream (or IMO)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup chopped onion (1 tbls of dried works well too)

Spread the mixture in the 9 x 13 pan

Over the top sprinkle 2 cups crushed corn flakes (I used potato chip crumbs on the one in the picture) and 2 tbls melted butter.

Bake for about 30 minutes.

Enjoy!!!

chocolate malt cookies

I guess after months of sweet stuff with the wedding cake preparation, we're still having a hard time breaking out of the baking mode. This time, however, it was the man of the house having his way with the flour and the baking pans!

These lovelies were quite tasty, so I thought we'd share his recipe:

for the cookies
1/2 cup butter flavored crisco
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup splenda
1/4 cup egg substitute
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1/3 cup unsweetened dutch cocoa powder
1/4 cup malted milk powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup dark chocolate morsels

for the frosting
1/3 cup white chocolate morsels
1 tbls canned milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (if you are above 5000 feet, heat to 375 degrees).

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Cream butter and sugar until smooth.

Add vanilla and egg substitute and mix until well blended.

In a seperate bowl, combine flour, cocoa, malted milk powder and salt. Stir to mix well.

Add dry ingredients to wet to form dough. Stir in dark chocolate chips.

Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place 2 inches apart on parchment lined baking sheets.

Bake for 10 minutes.

Let cool on the pan for 2 minutes then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

In a small, microwave safe bowl, combine white chocolate and canned milk. Microwave on high in 30 second intervals (be sure to stir each time) until melted and smooth. Drizzle over cooled cookies.

My husband made these as "birthday cookies" for my dad (who loves chocolate). Now my mom wants a white chocolate version!

Let us entertain you!

Mama Hattie Rose has invited her Gypsy to post here too!

No doubt you'll soon see some postings from my daughter about her own excursions into the kitchen at home and at work.

It should get really interesting!