Spiralized Zucchini

My daughter got one of those new spiralizer toys, and one of the first things she did was cut up a some good sized zucchini

Which turned out to be more than she could use on her own, so she brought me a bag full

This is what I did with it, and it was so good that I'm thinking I might want one of those tools for my house!




Ingredients:
1/2 pound bulk Italian sausage
10 ounces spiralized zucchini
1/4 medium green bell pepper diced
2 green onions finely sliced
1 clove garlic minced
6 thinly sliced baby bella mushrooms
1 large tomato diced
2 tbls olive oil
2 tsp dry basil
1 tbls dry parsley
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
Parmesan cheese for garnish (optional)

In a large heavy skillet over medium high heat, break up and brown the sausage, drain off any meat fat and set meat aside

Heat olive oil and lightly saute the bell peppers, onions and garlic

Add mushrooms and heat until soft

Return sausage to the pan, add tomatoes, zucchini, basil, parsley and pepper flakes

Reduce heat and cover to heat zucchini and tomatoes through

Serve with Parmesan cheese and additional red pepper flakes for garnish

Great with crusty bread!

Spaghetti Squash cassarole

This summer the garden included something that none of us had ever tried before, but because that particular patch of dirt seems to grow squash really well, it seemed a safe bet.

The first harvest of the spaghetti squash was done a couple of weeks ago, and I'm just now getting around to posting this recipe, which was a rousing success!

This is one of those processes that takes a long prep time unless you pre-cook the squash at another time, but after that is done this is a pretty quick meal

Ingredients:

1 spaghetti squash (about 3 pounds)
1 tsp olive oil
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 cups fresh spinach
1/2 pound bulk Italian sausage
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 pint of hand canned tomatoes (or a 15 oz can)
1/2 tsp minced garlic
3 to 4 green onions
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp parsley
1 tsp basil
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

The Process:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise (this takes some strength and a heavy sharp knife -- be careful!)

Scrape out the seeds and put the squash cut side down in a baking pan, add enough water to about 1/2 inch deep and bake for 50 to 60 minutes

While the squash is baking, combine the tomatoes, garlic, Italian seasoning, parsley, basil, black pepper and crushed red pepper in a small sauce pan.  Bring to a boil and turn down to a simmer, stirring occasionally.

When the squash is done, remove from oven, increase oven temperature to 400 degrees

Use a thick towel on a cutting board to hold the squash shell, scrape out the squash "threads" with a fork and set aside (I only used half of one 3 pound squash for this recipe, store the other half of the threads in a plastic bag in the refrigerator or freezer for later use)

In a large saute pan that can be put into the oven, heat the olive oil.  Scramble fry the sausage until browned, pour off most of the fat.

Add mushrooms and green onions and saute until soft.  Stir in squash, tomato sauce and spinach, cook until spinach is wilted.

Spread cheese over the top and bake for 15 minutes, until cheese is melted and lightly browned.

Serve with good Italian bread.

The left overs (if any!) heat well in the microwave and taste as good as the original.

Zucchini Bread

while my garden took a real beating over the summer, my neighbor had some surplus, so there was still zucchini for turning into bread!

in the past I had used a standard recipe, but most all of them call for a cup of oil, which is just way more than I think is healthy

I've been doing some fiddling around with the recipes, and this loaf has been judged a success!

here then is the recipe:

the Dry ingredients:

2 cups flour
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup chocolate chips

the Wet ingredients:

1 whole egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbls canola oil
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 1/2 cup shredded zucchini

Preheat over to 325 degrees

combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix well

combine the wet ingredients in a smaller bowl and mix well

add wet ingredients into dry ingredients, stir until just blended

pour into 9x5 greased loaf pan

bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean

cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely before cutting

Eggplant Lasagna

I love lasagna

trouble is, it's something that the DH has never been that fond of, and now days, as he has to decide just where he's willing to use his carbohydrate allowance, it's too carb heavy for him to eat

but we recently discovered a new way to make a lasagna that not only is okay for him to eat, but he really likes too





 Here's the ingredient list:
2 medium egg plants
2 cups pasta sauce
1/4 pound Italian sausage (about 1 link)
1/2 pound ground beef
2 eggs
1 15 ounce container of ricotta cheese
8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
sea salt
olive oil
cooking spray

Begin by preparing the eggplant
preheat the oven to 400 degrees, put parchment paper on 2 cookie sheets

peel the eggplants and slice them in 1/4 inch slices

brush both sides of slices lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt

roast in preheated oven for 20 minutes


While the eggplant is roasting, brown the sausage and the ground beef in a skillet, drain off the fat

pour the pasta sauce into the skillet and heat

in a bowl, beat 2 eggs. add the ricotta cheese, 6 ounces of mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese and mix well

To assemble the lasagna

Spray a 9 inch square Pyrex pan with cooking spray

put a small amount of sauce in the bottom of the pan

arrange a layer of roasted eggplant over the sauce

use about a tablespoon of the egg/cheese mixture on top of each slice of eggplant and top with sauce

repeat these layers until all of the eggplant has been used

top the final layer of sauce with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes

Pumpkin Butchering 101

we grew pumpkins in our garden this year

this was the biggest one -- it weighed 10 pounds 8 ounces

the whole point of growing these was to make them into pies!

to get from here to pie, there is some work involved

and here are the step by step instructions








Step 1:

turn on the oven to 350 degrees


cover a jelly roll pan with parchment paper

don't try to do this on a pan that isn't at least an inch deep because there will be a lot of liquid that comes out as it cooks

the parchment paper isn't absolutely required, but it does make the clean up a lot easier







Step 2:

remove the stem of the pumpkin -- this is usually as easy as just hitting it from the side with your hand -- it should just pop loose from the top of the pumpkin

lay the pumpkin on its side and using a large sharp knife, cut it in half crosswise

this pumpkin was so thick that we couldn't just push the knife through with our hands -- we used a hammer on the back of the blade to push the knife through -- just keep tapping around the center of the pumpkin until the knife goes all the way through





this was probably one of the thickest walled pumpkins we have ever encountered!

no wonder we couldn't push the knife through the side

(and its a good thing we didn't try to make this one into a jack-o-lantern -- it would have been a really hard one to carve!)





Step 3:

clean all of the seeds and the stringy stuff out of the inside of the pumpkin

we used a large serving spoon first, then after most of the stuff had been removed, I used the sharp edge of a grapefruit spoon to do the fine cleaning of the inside

the center cavity should look like this when you get it all cleaned out







Step 4:

place the two halves of the pumpkin cut side down on the prepared baking sheet

if you are going smaller pumpkins than this, you can probably do two on a jelly roll pan

put the pan in the oven

to do 2 small pumpkins it will take about an hour

a larger pumpkin will take about 90 minutes

this one cooked for a little over 2 hours




test the doneness of the pumpkin by pressing your finger into the side

if it springs back, it's not done yet

the pumpkin is ready when the finger mark stays in the side like this


when the pumpkin is done, take the pan out of the oven and set it on a heatproof or heat protected surface (we set the pan on a thick layer of towels on the kitchen counter)

let it cool until you can handle it comfortably

Step 5:

line a large colander with a clean dish towel (not terry)

using a small sharp paring knife, peel the skin off of the pumpkin and put the "meat" into the towel lined colander

when all the pumpkin has been put into the towel, gather up the top of the towel and twist it tightly to squeeze the liquid out of the pumpkin


put the twisted towel back into the colander, set a plate on top of it and put something heavy on top (I used a gallon jug of vinegar that was about 2/3 full, but several cans of black beans or other veggies will work just fine)

be sure to put something absorbent under the colander and contain the whole set up -- I used the same jelly roll pan with an old bath towel folded up inside

let this whole set up rest for at least an hour









Step 6:

remove the weight and the plate and open up the towel

pack your prepared pumpkin in the desired size containers (I used quart zip top bags) and remember to label with what the contents are, how much is in the container and a date

these can then be frozen or just refrigerated if you're going to use it within a few days

these two bags will get turned into pies on Wednesday

need a good pie recipe to use this in? try this one

Raspberry Oatmeal Bars

An easy and yummy sweet treat. It has to be healthy since it has fruit and oatmeal, right?


Raspberry Oatmeal Bars

1 (18.25oz) package yellow cake mix
2 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
3/4 cup margarine, melted
1 cup raspberry jam
1 tablespoon water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9x13 inch pan

In a large bowl, mix together oats, cake mix, and melted margarine so that it makes nice clumps and there is no dry mix left. Press 1/2 the oats mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. In a separate bowl, mix jam with water, and spread over the crust. Sprinkle the remaining oat mixture over the top.

Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 23 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned. Cool before cutting into bars.

So good they disappeared from the pan in a hurry before I could get a picture.

Hard Boiled Egg Tutorial

a while back my daughter wanted me to teach her how to do hard boiled eggs that were "pretty" -- no funny green rings around the yolk

I thought this would be a good thing to add to the tutorials here in Hattie's Kitchen

this instruction is what works here at high altitude -- if you live at sea level, you won't need to boil the eggs for as long a time

that said, here we go!
when I do hard boiled eggs, I usually am boiling what's left of the OLDEST dozen of eggs in the refrigerator

I'm not sure there is any science in that, but the ones that are fresher don't seem to peel as well

be sure none of the eggs are cracked before you begin

select a pan that is the right size to boil the number of eggs you want to cook -- you don't want them to bounce around too much and crack while they are in there

put enough COLD water in the pan to cover the eggs

put the pan on the burner at medium and let it slowly come to a boil

this slow warming helps keep the eggs from cracking






when the eggs come to a boil, turn down the heat so the water just simmers

set a timer for 12 minutes (again, this is the right time here at high altitude -- at sea level or somewhere in between this time will be less because water boils at a different temperature there)

check occasionally to make sure the water continues to simmer for the entire 12 minutes



when the 12 minutes are up, move the pan directly to the sink

pour part of the hot water out and run COLD water over the eggs

add some ice cubes and let the eggs sit for 5 to 10 minutes to cool

the quicker you get them cool the more the inner membrane shrinks away from the shell which makes it a lot easier to peel them


after the cooling time, you can either put the eggs back in the refrigerator in their shells (be sure to mark the container so you know which ones are cooked!) or you can peel them right away

to peel the eggs, select a tea spoon that is fairly thin and has a "pointy" bowl (those really rounded thick tea spoons just won't do this job as well)





use the back of the spoon to hit the shell all over to break it into small sections

while you are doing this you should be able to tell where the "air pocket" under the shell is

(in this picture it is there on the side of this egg)







beginning at the spot where the "air pocket" under the shell is, slide the tip of the tea spoon under the shell and the inner membrane and start peeling them off










go slowly and rinse in the ice water from the pan as needed to get all of the shell pieces off the egg







put the peeled eggs in a zip top bag or a container with a tight lid (you don't want the eggs to absorb "smells" from your refrigerator, and since they are really porous, they will!)

if you'll be eating these "out of hand", I recommend a light sprinkling of salt before you close up the container


so there you go -- perfect hard boiled eggs!

home made "blue ice"

two weeks ago the DH had surgery on his shoulder

since then we've been really friendly with ice packs

now we have a couple of those blue gel packs, but they don't really stay cold for a 30 minute cooling session, and they're kind of pricey

my daughter shared a recipe with me to do a home made version

I whipped up a couple of these and we've been using them at least 3 times a day ever since -- they're even better than those blue things

it is really simple and really cheap too!


Small pack:

2 - 1 quart zip top plastic bags
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup rubbing alcohol

pour the liquids into one bag, squeeze out the air and zip close, insert into second bag, zip close and freeze


Big pack:

2 - 1 gallon zip top plastic bags
2 1/4 cup water
3/4 cup rubbing alcohol


if you want even smaller ones, use sandwich bags and split the quart measurements!

"Used bread" bread pudding

We try to live frugal -- when you live on a fixed income these days, you don't have much choice in that.

One of the ways we try to keep our grocery spending within our means is to shop for the marked down things. My mother has been doing this for years -- she refers to it as "used food".

Recently a trip through the "used bread" in my local market yielded up a loaf of frosted cinnamon raisin bread -- it made great breakfasts, but it was a big loaf, so it started to get stale before we could eat it all.

My solution was to turn it into dessert!

Here's the ingredient list:

For the pudding
3 to 4 cups of bread cut into about 1 inch cubes -- I've used left over cinnamon rolls for this too
2 cups milk
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins or craisins
1 recipe of hard sauce (recipe follows)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Select a glass baking dish that will hold at least 1 1/2 quart, spray with non-stick spray, set aside

In a small sauce pan, bring the milk and the butter just to a boil and remove from the heat

Lightly beat eggs, sugar, salt and cinnamon together, add a small amount of the hot milk to the egg mixture and beat again, then pour the egg mixture and the milk together in a bowl to mix (caution: don't skip that adding hot milk to the eggs step or you'll end up with scrambled egg which is not what you want here -- this is called "tempering" and it's an important technique to know when you do baking or working with chocolate)

Add bread and raisins or craisins and mix well -- let the bread soak up the liquids

Pour into prepared baking dish

Place baking dish in a pan (I use a 9 by 12 inch metal baking pan) that will hold water 1 inch deep around the glass dish.

TIP: put the two pans in the oven and use a large measuring cup to add the water to the pan while it's on the oven shelf -- when you take the pudding out, let the metal pan sit in the oven until the water has cooled before you take it out -- this may be a bit "fiddly" but it will keep you from getting a nasty scalding burn

Bake for 45 to 55 minutes -- until a knife inserted 1 inch from the edge comes out clean

Serve warm with ice cream, whipped cream or hard sauce



Recipe for hard sauce:

6 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
5 tbls milk or cream
1/2 tsp almond extract

Beat cream cheese until fluffy

Add sugar gradually, beating after each addition

Add milk and almond, and mix well

Cover and chill

(this is great used on banana nut bread or just about any other sweet bread too)

Enjoy!!

Gum Drop Bread

most of the family recipes I use came from my mother or my grandmother, but this one is from the DH's side of the family

the DH is a first generation American, and his English family brought this recipe with them

it's sort of like fruit cake -- but not quite!

and this year, for the first time in quite a few years, I decided to make up a batch, both for our eating pleasure and to share with friends


Here is the ingredient list:

1 pound walnuts or pecans, rough chopped (we prefer pecans)
1 pound dates, rough chopped (do yourself a favor and buy the packages that are already cut)
1 pound fruit flavored gum drops (no black ones, and the spice ones are not the right thing)
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
4 eggs, separated
2 tsp vanilla

this year our obstacle was we could not find anything but spice gum drops!

my local Sunflower market, however had jellied fruit slices in the bulk bin, so I brought home a little over a pound of those and used my kitchen shears to cut them into "gum drop" sized pieces




(if you need to do this, it helps a lot to dip your kitchen shears in sugar frequently to keep the blades from becoming too sticky)

this is what they looked like when I got done

while you're cutting things, if you need to cut the dates, use the same technique for them

and do the rough chop on the nuts

turn on your oven to preheat -- only 300 degrees for this recipe

this can be done in two standard loaf pans, but I usually use this pan plus one more pan the same size (it's really nice to be able to put these all in like one pan!)

to prepare your pans -- cut parchment paper (or brown paper) to fit the pan (I use a strip that is the width of the pan and long enough to go down the long side, along the bottom then back up the other long side plus about another 2 inches on each end that can be a "handle" when removing the loaves from the pan)

grease the pans (or use non-stick spray), fit the paper into the pan, then grease or spray again

set the pans aside and mix the dough
put all of the chopped ingredients (gum drops, nuts, dates) into a large bowl and stir to mix well

in a separate bowl, mix together the sugar, flour, salt and baking powder

sprinkle this dry mixture over the chopped ingredients

stir and "toss" to coat everything well with the dry ingredients

separate the eggs, beat vanilla into the egg yolks

using a mixer, beat egg whites until light and foamy (not too stiff)

pour egg yolks over fruit and mix, then add the egg whites and fold to combine all of the ingredients (be sure all of the dry stuff at the bottom of the bowl gets mixed in)

divide and press batter into pans (make sure there aren't any big gaps)

bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes

as soon as they come out of the oven, use a flat spatula along the un-papered side of each loaf, then use the paper "handles" to lift each loaf out of the pan to a rack

peel off the paper carefully and let set on the rack until totally cooled

wrap in foil and tie with a bow for gift giving, or slice and eat and enjoy!

Spicing things up

over the weekend I had the chance to visit a Savory Spice Shop

it is an experience not to be missed

sure, we've all bought spices at the grocery store -- and even at the fair from the Watkins booth

but it just doesn't compare with the experience of being able to walk in and see all the spices and herbs and blends in the jars and using the little shaker bottles to taste before you buy

unless you've done that, how do you know if you want the Vietnamese cinnamon which has a sharp, hot feel on your tongue, like eating those red hot fireball candies -- or if you'd prefer the mellower Chinese cinnamon?

do you want the St Louis pork rub? the pan pork sausage blend?

how about a REAL vanilla bean?

or 4 ounces of powdered cheddar cheese --- my "best of the day" find so I can make my own version of "quick" mac 'n cheese -- a version of this stuff used to be available from my local grocery store, but Kraft doesn't do that any more --- and this stuff tastes better!

if there isn't one of these lovely stores near you, you should at least check out their website -- here's the link

Quick Chicken Soup

Back in the days when the DH and I both worked full time jobs and needed sometimes to come up with a meal in a hurry, this was one of our favorites.

Quick, easy, inexpensive -- all good things!

Yesterday my daughter asked me to remind her again how we did this -- now that she and her husband sometimes need to do this.


Happy to do it






Ingredients:

32 ounces of chicken broth -- more or less -- homemade or from a can
large (12.5 ounce) can of chicken meat or equivalent of left over chicken
1 cup frozen peas or mixed vegetables
1 cup raw noodles

How to:

Pour the broth and the chicken into a pan (if you are using left over chicken, add a bit of water, if you are using the can, pour in the liquid from the can too)

Bring to a boil

Add vegetables and noodles

Cook until the noodles are to the desired doneness -- about 10 minutes

Enjoy!!

Tuna Cassarole

a couple of weeks ago my daughter asked me to post the recipe for this, and I couldn't believe I hadn't already done it!

and of course that also meant that I had to actually make one so I could write down the recipe!

so this is last night's dinner --- and one of the best ones ever

here then is the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 can (10.75 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom or cream of celery soup
2 cans (12 ounces total) tuna in water (or the equivalent in pouch tuna)
12 ounces (uncooked weight) medium shell macaroni
1 cup frozen peas
1 Tbls butter
1 Tbls flour
1 1/2 cups milk (I use 1%)
1 cup shredded mild cheddar cheese
1 cup crushed potato chips

How to:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a large sauce pan, cook the pasta to al dente (about 9 minutes after it returns to a boil check the package) -- don't overcook -- it is going to be baked too (and remember to salt the water)

While the pasta is cooking, make the sauce:

Melt the butter in a small sauce pan over medium heat
Stir in the flour to form a roux and cook for a couple of minutes to take out that "paste" taste (be careful not to let it burn)
Using a whisk, stir in 1 cup of the milk, blend well and turn the heat down slightly
Add the can of condensed soup, mixing well, and use the remaining 1/2 cup milk to "rinse" the soup can into the pan
When the sauce starts to thicken up, add the shredded cheese and turn the heat down to low
Continue whisking occasionally while you prepare the rest of the parts

Open and drain the cans of tuna

(I have one of these nifty plastic gizmos that just fits in the top of the can and lets you drain out the liquid without loosing any of the solids)

I don't try to squeeze out the liquid for this recipe -- there is some good flavor in that packing water, but you just don't want ALL of that liquid



Pour the frozen peas in the colander that you are going to use to drain your macaroni

When the pasta is done, pour it right in on top of the peas

It defrosts the peas without using any additional water


Return the drained macaroni and peas to the pan you cooked the pasta in, and add the tuna
Pour the sauce over the top and mix well

Spray a large casserole dish with cooking spray and pour in the mixture

Top with crushed potato chips

Bake for 30 minutes

bread and cherrios

this has to be the most beautiful loaf of bread I've ever made

so nicely shaped

so evenly browned

amazing given the total piece of junk that my oven is

the recipe for this is the Light Whole Wheat out of the cookbook my daughter gave me for Christmas

this is about the fourth batch of this particular recipe I've made (remember I said no store bought bread here!), but there has been a real learning curve in making bread without using a bread pan -- just a flat steel cookie sheet

the book recommends that you use a pizza stone, but in my feeble little oven it would take FOREVER to heat that up (the book says about 20 minutes, so we're talking about 45 here) and our electric bill can't stand the shock

but the steel cookie sheet with a good layer of cornmeal works really well

now that I've really gotten the hang of this recipe it's time to try another one

yesterday, when we went to get milk there was a huge display of these on an end cap

you remember Cherrios? the ever present healthy snack you carried around in little containers to occupy your kids in church

let me tell you, these are not your "church cherrios"

not only do they really taste like chocolate, they are faintly sweet and super crunchy

as a snack that is

I brought the box home, broke right into it and ate a little container full while I was working at my sewing machine (just being careful not to drop any to the dog!)

I think they'll be really good with milk on them too -- and raspberries --- mmmmm, chocolate and raspberries --- yum!

time for breakfast!!

Bubble Rolls

We've had a longstanding tradition of having some kind of homemade sweet rolls with bacon for Christmas morning.

This year, we were celebrating at our daughter's house, so we did a recipe that came from her husband's mom.

These are real tasty, and so easy you don't have to wait until Christmas to do them!



Ingredients:

24 ounces of frozen roll balls (about 18 rolls)
1 stick of butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 package butterscotch pudding (the small size, NOT INSTANT!)

How to:

The night before you want to eat these, put the frozen rolls in a bundt pan

Sprinkle the pudding mix over the frozen rolls

Melt sugar and butter together, pour over the rolls

Set the bundt pan on top of the refrigerator (or some other warm place) until morning

The next morning, bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes

Turn out onto serving tray as soon as they come out of the oven.

YUMMY!

The Bread Book

I got this book for Christmas from my daughter

in the past the bread making in this house has always been done by my husband, whose hands are much much stronger than mine to do kneading

but with this book, you don't knead

you mix up the dough

you let it rise -- and FALL! -- once

then you stick it in the refrigerator and use it in pieces for the next week or so

I was sceptical --yeast dough -- a whole week or more -- in the cold?

yup!

and it works -- you can go right ahead after that first rise and finish off a loaf, but it is actually BETTER if you stick in in the 'fridge

so far I've had 4 different kinds of bread out of this book, and I'm planning on making more

I'm seriously considering making pumpernickel, which I really like but has always seemed so incredibly difficult that I couldn't begin to do it at home

it's truly amazing what you can get from four little (and cheap!) ingredients --- flour, water, salt, yeast --- that's "bread on the hoof"

we haven't bought a loaf of store bread since I got the book -- a package of pita this week, but there's a recipe for those too, so I may not be buying those again either

I'll let you know how that pumpernickel comes out

Smothered Burritos

We do a lot of "scratch" cooking, but we also have some recipes that are what I call "throw togethers" made up of things that we usually have on hand in the house.

This recipe is based on one that my mother would make -- I've added some fiber and cut the fat.


Ingredients:

10 to 12 flour tortillas, white or whole wheat
1 can black beans
2 cans green chili with pork
1 pound hamburger
1 cup shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese


How to:

Scramble fry the hamburger and drain, return to the pan

Add beans and chili and heat well

Using a slotted spoon, fill the tortillas (use an envelope fold to prevent leaking) and place in a 9 x 12 inch pan

After filling all of the tortillas, pour the remaining liquid over the top of the burritos

Spread grated cheese over the top

Bake at 325 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes


Serve with shredded lettuce, chopped fresh tomatoes, sliced avocado and sour cream garnishes.

NOTES: I use Stokes brand green chili to make these, but any brand will work

Be sure to spray the baking pan well with cooking spray before filling for easier clean up, and I recommend using a pyrex pan for this.

Amma's Persimmon Bars

This recipe came from my friend in California, and since we moved back to the Rocky Mountains, I have not been able to make it because I could not get the right kind of persimmons.

The only thing I could find were the flat variety, which never get soft enough to make this recipe from.

These are the RIGHT kind of persimmons.

When you get them, try to get four that are all at the same stage of ripeness so they all reach the perfect ready stage at the same time.

When you bring them home, set them out on the counter and let them get really soft -- like an over ripe tomato -- then they are ready.

To get the "pulp", use a very sharp knife to cut an "X" at the top of each persimmon and squeeze the pulp out into a bowl (sort of like squeezing the last of the toothpaste out of the tube). For every cup of pulp, mix in 1 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice to keep it from getting dark. It takes about 4 large ones to get the required 1 cup of pulp for this recipe.

Once you have that, you're ready to begin:

Ingredients for Bars:
1 cup fresh pulp (with lemon juice added)
1 tsp baking soda
1 egg
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
8 ounces dates, chopped fine
1 1/3 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1 cup chopped nuts

Ingredients for Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbls lemon juice

How To:

Mix persimmon pulp/lemon mixture with the baking soda and set aside.

Lightly beat egg. Add sugar, oil and dates and mix.

Combine dry ingredients and add to eggs in small amounts, alternating with persimmon mixture.

Continue to combine until well blended, then stir in the nuts.

Spread into greased, floured jelly roll pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Cool for 5 minutes

Mix glaze and spread over warm bars.

Cool completely then cut into squares.

Notes:

1. The finished bars will freeze well, just be sure to seperate with parchment or wax paper to keep the glaze from sticking them all together.

2. Fresh persimmons can be frozen whole -- just stick them in the freezer in their skins -- when you are ready to use, set them on the counter in a container and let them defrost.

3. You can freeze the pulp and lemon mixture too.

Oatmeal Lace Cookies

{Edited Dec 21, 2009: I made these following the recipe exactly. I got 31 cookies and they are pretty big. Next time I'm going to use just a half a teaspoon of dough for each one, and see if they aren't a better size.

Also, Mammy used to take these off the pans and put them on brown paper to cool, which gave the excess oil a chance to soak into the paper. I used a cooling rack, which I don't like as well -- got to find some brown paper to cool them on next time.

But the taste? Yup, a step right back into my childhood! And I'll probably try making them and adding about half a cup of coconut to the recipe next time.}
I've been searching for this recipe for years.

It was one Mammy used to make for Pappy --- light, thin, crispy

and lost to history -- or so it seemed!

My mother has been going through boxes of papers from my grandmother --- she found this in the box --- YIPPEE!!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup oleo
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbls flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbls milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup old fashion (rolled) oatmeal

How To:

Cream oleo and sugar together until smooth

Blend in flour, salt, milk and vanilla until well mixed

stir in oatmeal

drop by teaspoonfuls on an ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart (these are going to SPREAD!)

bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes

cool on pan for 2 to 3 minutes then remove from pan (this gives them time to "set up")

makes 4 dozen

in her notes, Mammy had written that you could substitute coconut for the oatmeal, but I don't remember her ever actually making them that way.

Gma's Boston Style Clam Chowder

I like clam chowder -- especially the Boston Style ones.

This recipe came from my mother

Ingredients:
3" cube of salt pork or an equivalent amount of bacon (about 1/4 pound)
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cans of clams
1/2 pound (about 2 large) carrots, cubed
4 large potatoes, cubed
1 quart of milk

How to:

Cut the salt pork or bacon into small pieces, brown in the pan until browned

Add the chopped onion and cook until tender (do not brown)

Drain the clams and set aside, add the liquid to the pan

Add carrots and potatoes and enough water to cover, cook until the potatoes are tender (10 to 20 minutes depending on the size of the pieces and your altitude)

Add clams and milk, heat but DO NOT boil

enjoy with crusty bread