No-Headache Holiday Sauce

12 ounces fresh cranberries
1/2 cup water
3 Gala or Rome apples, peeled
and chopped coarsely
2 Bartlett pears, peeled
and chopped coarsely
4 T. sugar, or to taste
1 T. plus 1t. cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Cover and simmer occasionally, until cranberries pop,
25-30 minutes.
Cool to room temperature or chill.
Makes 2 cups, serves 6.

Per serving: 132 calories
Fiber: 6 g.
Carbohydrates: 34 g.

EatSmart by Jean Carper

Caramel Corn

5 quarts (20 cups) of unsalted popcorn
( put in large roasting pan)

In saucepan:

1/2 c. Karo white syrup
2 sticks margarine
2 c. brown sugar
1 t. salt
1/4 t. cream of tartar

Boil for 5 minutes

Measure 1 teaspoon baking soda. Take pot off stove and hold over popcorn in pan. Add the baking soda. Stir very well. Pour over popcorn and stir around coating pieces as best you can. Place in 225* oven for ~ 1 hour stirring every 20 minutes.

Notes from the cook: This stuff is delicious! I like to make it as a treat around Christmas.

Scalloped Potatoes

2 pounds potatoes (~6medium) 

3 T. butter 

3 T. flour 

1 t. salt 

1/4 t. pepper 

2 1/2 c. milk 

1 small onion, chopped fine (1/4 c.)

1 T. butter 

 Prepare potatoes by peeling and cutting into thin slices to measure ~4 cups. 

Heat 3 T butter in saucepan over low heat until melted. 

Stir in flour, salt, and pepper. 

Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and bubbly: remove from heat. 

Stir in milk. 

Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. 

 Arrange potatoes in greased 2-quart casserole in three layers , topping each of the first two layers with 1/2 of the onion and 1/3 of the white sauce. Top with the remaining potatoes and sauce.

 Dot with 1 T. butter.

 Cover and bake 30 minutes at 350. Uncover and bake 60-70 minutes longer. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

 6 servings: 265 calories per serving

Betty Crocker recipe

 Notes from the cook: Everyone likes this dish. I use skim milk or 1% milk because that's what I have in the fridge. I like to make sure that a little caramelizing has occurred around the edges because that's my favorite part! 

If you want to make au gratin just add 2 cups of cheese, stir the onion into the butter and cook to soften and continue making your white sauce. Add the cheese to the white sauce.

Beef Stew

1 pound stew meat
1 T. shortening
3 c. hot water
1/2 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper

Brown beef in the fat until caramelized on the surface.This takes awhile to juice out the water in the beef. Add the water and bring up to a boil. Lower the temp to simmer, on top of the stove. Add the salt and pepper, if you wish. Simmer 2
2 1/2 hours.

Add:

2-3 carrots cut into 1 inch pieces
1 large potato cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1 medium stalk celery, cut into pieces
1 small onion, chopped
1 beef bouillon cube
1 bay leaf

Cover and simmer about 30 minutes or until veggies are soft.

Add:

1/2 cup cold water
2 T. flour or cornstarch

Mix together and add to the stew to thicken gravy.

Notes from the cook:
Its a stew, you can add and delete as you like. I like to add extra carrots because I like the taste of stewed carrots. I also like adding a can of stewed tomatoes for the same reason. Sometimes I don't add the potato and just serve it without the starch or have the starch on the side. I might want to have noodles or rice with my stew instead. If you like the taste of Green pepper or green beans, you could add a green pepper with the other veggies. The basic recipe is from Betty Crocker.
I tried to make stew for Halloween as a filler for the trick or treaters, in my life, before they went on their treat stops. I wanted something nutritious in their bellies to fend off the sugar. Now I like making stew at Halloween to remind me of the past and to unofficially welcome Winter!

Sweet Corn Bread

1 cup flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
1 T. baking powder
3/4 t. salt
1/4 cup melted butter
2 eggs
1 cup milk

Mix dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients. Bake in 9x9 pan at 375 for 20-25 minutes.

If you want to skinny it down then use 1 egg and 1 egg white. 1 cup skim milk.

If you use a glass pan then reduce oven temperature 25 degrees.

Sacred Space » Homepage

Sacred Space » Homepage: "As we grow older and have fewer tasks ahead of us, we have leisure to indulge our memories. We should choose with care the memories we indulge. Even in old age they shape our moods. If we are seduced into what you might call sore memories, resentments and grievances, then people will avoid us. The world is hard enough without doses of other people’s gloom to darken it. But we can lift our own and others’ moods if we linger on the joyful mysteries of our life, on the people we loved and the experiences that we felt as blessings. We don’t want to bore our friends with complacency or boastfulness. Gratitude for God’s gifts is different. It is one of the basic themes of any mature spirituality, and it makes us easy to live with."

Sacred Space

Sacred Space: "1 Corinthians 6:12-15
'All things are lawful for me', but not all things are beneficial. 'All things are lawful for me', but I will not be dominated by anything. 'Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food', and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is meant not for fornication but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Should I therefore take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never!"

Very Healthy Banana Bread

1/4 c. vegetable oil
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. egg substitute; or
4 egg whites
5 small bananas (1 1/2 c.)
mashed
2 c. whole wheat flour
1 T. baking powder
1/2 c. walnuts, chopped
Nontstick veggie spray

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Cream oil and sugar
3. Add egg, beat 3-5 minutes
4. Stir in bananas
5. Blend in flour and baking powder
6. Stir in walnuts; pour into 9x5 loaf pan sprayed with cooking spray.
7. Bake for approximately 1 hour.

Yields 20 servings
Per Serving: 5g fat, 3g protein, 70mg sodium, 2 g fiber, 21g carb.

Lemon Poppy Seed Snack Cake

1 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt (optional)
4 T. poppy seeds
1 c. All Bran Buds cereal or Original
1/4 c. skim milk
2 egg whites
3 T. vegetable oil
1 c. (80z.) low fat lemon yogurt
1 T. grated lemon peel


1. Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and poppy seeds. Set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine All Bran cereal, milk, egg whites, oil, yogurt and lemon peel. Let stand about 5 minutes or until cereal softens. Add flour mixture, stirring only until combined. Spread evenly in 8x8x2-inch pan coated with cooking spray.

3. Bake at 350 F for about 25 minutes. Cool and dust with confectioners sugar or lemon glaze.

Insomniatic Robot

I have come to accept myself as an atypical being. Although we all inevitably have the power to change, sometimes it seems that our current situation is too overwhelming or too consuming to break away from. Is it possible to fall so deeply into routine that we reach a point of no return? Are we all just floating along on a predetermined path, or do we truly possess the ability to choose our destiny?

Pistachio Pineapple Pudding

1 (20 0z.) can of crussed pineapple in its own juice
1 (4 oz.)pkg. sugar free instant pistachio pudding mix
1 cup vanilla yogurt
8 ounces   light Cool Whip( the whole container)
1/3 c. walnuts, chopped (optional)

1. Mix together pineapple (undrained) , pudding and yogurt
2. Fold in Cool Whip and walnuts and serve.

8 servings. 97 calories

Food Reference Website: Everything about food: from Articles & History to Recipes and Trivia Quizzes

Food Reference Website: Everything about food: from Articles & History to Recipes and Trivia Quizzes: "WEDNESDAY, JULY 21, 2010
TODAY'S FOOD QUOTE
'Make no mistake, the weeds will win, nature bats last.'
Robert Michael Pyle (1947 - )"

Spanish Rice

1 c. white rice
1 T. vegetable oil
1 14.5 oz. can stewed tomatoes
1 minced garlic clove
1/2 t. salt
1 carrot, grated
2 c. water, tomatoe juice combined

Heat oil and brown rice. Strain tomatoes and combine with water to make 2 cups. Chop up tomatoes. Mince garlic with salt to help it not become sticky on your knife. Grate carrot. Add water mixture to rice, garlic, tomatoes and carrot. Bring to boil, reduce heat, and simmer on very low for 20 minutes.
You can use any spices you like such as chili, cumin, cajun blends or anything else you have a taste for that compliments the ingredients.

Food Poems - Blueberries by Robert Frost

Food Poems - Blueberries by Robert Frost: "Blueberries

Blueberries as big as the end of your thumb,

Real sky-blue, and heavy, and ready to drum

In the cavernous pail of the first one to come!

And all ripe together, not some of them green

And some of them ripe!
You ought to have seen!
Robert Frost"

Guiding Thought

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."
Aristotle

So get up and do the right thing even if you don't feel it. Eventually, you will own it.

Blueberry Buckle

1 1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. soft butter
2 eggs
1 c. milk
4 c. flour
4 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
4 c. blueberries

Mix sugar, butter and egg together. Stir in milk. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt and stir into first mixture. Blend in blueberries.

Topping
1 c. sugar
2/3 c. flour
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 c butter

Mix together and sprinkle on top. Bake at 375 for 45-55 minutes. 9x13 pan

Compliments of Bidlo Family Cookbook

Turkey Burgers

1 lb. ground turkey
4 oz. mushrooms, minced
1 small onion, minced
1T. BBQ sauce
1 T. chili powder
pepper
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
Cooking oil spray
4 whole wheat hamburger buns

Garnish
sliced onion, tomato, and lettuce

Put the ground turkey, mushrooms, onion and seasonings in a bowl. Squish together thoroughly. Make 4 patties. Heat grill, spray patties and cook aproximately 7 minutes per side. Warm buns on grill.
Compliments of Kroehler Family Center Cookbook

Guiding Thought

Here's another chance to build my strength. Another opportunity to not be bothered.

Peace

Sacred Space: "Hosea 14:2-10
I will heal their disloyalty; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them. I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily, he shall strike root like the forests of Lebanon. His shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive tree, and his fragrance like that of Lebanon. They shall again live beneath my shadow, they shall flourish as a garden; they shall blossom like the vine, their fragrance shall be like the wine of Lebanon.
Help me, Lord, to notice how you are speaking to me."

Bean Salad

1 can green beans
1 can yellow beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can garbanzo beans
1/2 c. chopped green pepper (optional)
1/3 c. chopped red onion (optional)
1/4 c vinegar
2 T sugar
2 T oil
1/4 t celery seed
1/2 t dry mustard
1 small clove garlic, minced

In a large bowl combine drained beans, sweet pepper and onion. In a jar combine the vinegar, sugar, oil, celery seeds, dry mustrard, and garlic. Cover and shake well. Pour over vegetables, stir lightly. Cover and marinate for 4 to 24 hours. Serves 6-8. Calories 120
Compliments of Better Homes and Gardens 12th edition.

Summer Heat

Its too hot to bake right now,especially, if you don't have air conditioning. So think cold sandwiches, salads, and microwaves.If you are thinking of grilling remember to take notice of how everything fits together before disassembling to clean. It could put a damper on using the grill. Popsicles and fruit for dessert. I had a delicious banana popsicle compliments of Deans. It's too bad that there isn't any banana in them, only artificial flavor.

Banana Bread

1 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (3-4)
1 2/3 cup ultra grain flour
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/4 t baking powder
1 cup chocolate chips
1-2 grated rinds of orange

Heat oven to 350. Grease bottom of loaf pan only. Mix sugar and margarine.(Whip it up. Sir in eggs and blend well. Add bananas, beat well. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour into pan. Bake until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. 55-60 minutes. 24 slices= 130 calories approximately. Loosely based off of Betty Crockers Cookbook

Quick Breads

I am making banana bread today. I am changing it up by adding chocolate chips and orange rind.
I think oranges and chocolate go together. This is the second loaf using this particular combination of ingredients.
Last week I made a whole wheat sweet bread with molasses as the sweetener. It was reminiscent of gingerbread. It was great toasted but way too dry otherwise.

Goodwill Finds

Never underestimate the Goowill Store when looking to pick up a few tools for the kitchen. I was in yesterday and was amazed at the number of kitchen items currently stocked. A great resource for finding a unique old tool or picking up extra bowls, spoons, or small appliances.

Porcupine Meatballs

1 lb ground meat
1/2 c uncooked  rice (converted or instant)
1/2 c water
1/3 c chopped onion
1 t salt
1/2 t celery salt
1/8 t garlic powder
1/8 t pepper
__________________
1 can (15oz) tomato sauce
1 c water
2 t Worcestershire sauce
2 T. brown sugar

Heat oven to 350. Mix all but tomato sauce, 1 c water, and Worcestershire sauce. Shape into rounded tablespoonfuls. Place in ungreased baking dish 9 x 13 baking dish. Stir together tomato sauce, water, Worcestershire and brown sugar. Pour over meatballs. Cover with aluminum foil: bake 45 min. Uncover; bake 15 min. longer. Serves 4-6
Compliments of Betty Crocker Recipe Card Library
Notes: I think using converted rice or instant rice will work just as well and maybe better. I have had crunchy regular rice in this dish in the past. I added the brown sugar to the sauce by noting that a Taste of Home author had done this to their recipe. It seems like a logical addition to tomato sauce.
I liked the sauce better with the addition of the brown sugar.

Family Birthday Fixins'

Turkey Porcupine Meatballs for dinner last night. It was not a day to be heating up the kitchen. The alternative was to grill. But, the storms passing in and out of the area made it hard to commit to grilling for a group. So on went the oven and the stove. It was my first try at making porcupine meatballs in the oven. I chose the oven method over the stovetop method because of the quantity I was making. They turned out a little softer since I did not fry them and their "skin" did not brown up. I also made a side of rice pilaf ,buttered green beans and salad. Dessert was a yellow cake with Italian meringue buttercream frosting and strawberry buttercream filling.

Salad for a Hot Day

Lazy Girls Healthy Hummus in a Bowl
Hi everyone! Its hot outside!
For supper I made a salad with garbanzo beans, cucs, tomatoes, romaine, mushroom, carrot, green pepper and mint. I squished lemons over all and spread Tahini over the top added salt, pepper and croutons. I call it my lazy hummus salad.