Slugmom's Recipes

Caramelized Cauliflower

2009-09-18T18:47:00.011-04:00

Simple and tasty.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Slice cauliflower ~1/4" thick through the whole head -- keep the large center pieces intact.

Place in a single layer on a large cookie sheet lined with a nonstick liner or nonstick aluminum foil. I used a Silpat liner.

Roast in 450 degree oven for 25-40 minutes or until cauliflower is caramelized.

I like to have mine with a sauce made of soy sauce, a little cooking sherry, honey, water, garlic, and red pepper flakes, thickened with cornstarch.

Pretty, isn't it? Mmmm.

Edible Christmas Forest

2007-12-20T21:50:00.001-05:00

Ingredients:

sugar cones ~ one per child
frosting ~ 1 can of white per 6-8 cones
green food coloring
nearly every bowl in the house to hold decor
decorations ~ a fortune's worth
- note: check the wedding/party cake aisle for additional selection

Directions:

mix green food coloring with frosting
spread liberally on cones
invert onto plates using additional frosting to hold it to plate
allow children to decorate as desired
photograph with children and as forest
eat!

Cinnamon Rolls Not From A Tube

2007-09-02T09:19:00.000-04:00

See? This is why I knew I shouldn't make real cinnamon rolls.

I always do cinnamon rolls from the tube.

I know!! what a cheater!!!

But it's fast and easy on a Sunday morning when we're hurrying to get to church, but it's also a treat we only get on Sundays.

Except, today, I didn't have any of the tubey ones. And, in addition to that, we didn't have to hurry. We only have one service, and it's the late one. And then I found a recipe for *quicker* cinnamon rolls. Non-yeast ones. And I figured - why not?

So what's the problem? The kids really liked them. Proclaimed them the best evah. But I don't have time to do this every Sunday! I knew I shouldn't have started!

So, anyway, shhhh, don't tell Smonky I'm making these from scratch. It'll ruin my box/mix/tube/cheater reputation.

I started with this recipe for Jiffy Cinnamon Rolls ... and only made a few slugmomodifications today. Besides doubling it. This is it, as modified and doubled.

Quicker Cinnamon Rolls

INGREDIENTS

* 4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/4 cup white sugar
* 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup butter, softened
* 2 cups water

* 1/2 cup butter, softened (yes, more!)
* 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
* 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

* 1.5 cup confectioners' sugar
* 4 oz cream cheese
* 3 T. softened butter
* 1/2 tsp vanilla
* 1 tsp milk or water

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in 1/2 cup butter or margarine until crumbly. Make a well in center, and pour in water. Stir to form a soft dough, adding a bit more water if needed. Actually, this was a bit too soft and sticky, and I added another 1/2 cup of flour. I recommend adding the water slowly.

2. Turn dough out on lightly floured surface. Knead 8 to 10 times. Roll into rectangle about 1/3 inch thick and 18 inches long. Spread the cinnamon mixture over dough rectangle. Roll up as for jelly roll. Mark first, then cut into 24 slices (using that magic dental floss trick is great). Place cut side down on parchment paper on a jellyroll pan.

3. Bake in 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes.

4. to make icing, blend together cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk or water until light and fluffy. Frost cinnamon rolls while warm

Lemon-Cranberry Muffins

2007-09-01T09:37:00.002-04:00

Breakfast Today is brought to you by the Letter Mmmmm

Super_bugs reminded me that it's almost fresh cranberry season.

There's a cranberry bog in Southern Michigan that I believe, if i were to get my act together, I could visit, with the children, at harvest time. I may try that this year.

In any case, with cranberries on my mind and dried cranberries in my cupboard, I decided to make these for breakfast:

Lemon-Cranberry Muffins

I started with this recipe for Raspberry Lemon Muffins, and then slugmomodified it as follows:

INGREDIENTS

* 1 cup plain fat free yogurt
* scant 1/4 cup vegetable oil
* 2 tablespoons lemon juice ~ used juice from 1 lemon
* 2 eggs
* 1 teaspoon lemon extract (optional)
* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1-1/2 cups white sugar
* 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon baking powder
* scant 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (bottled, plus what I scraped off the real lemon before I got tired of the effort)
* 1 cup dried cranberries
* 1/2 cup water

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease two 12 cup muffin tins, or line with paper liners.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the yogurt, oil, lemon juice, eggs, lemon extract, dried cranberries, and lemon zest. Use an immersion blender to chop up cranberries into yogurt mixture. Stir in 1/2 cup water.

3. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, 3/4 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and mix until just blended. Gently stir in the frozen raspberries. Spoon batter evenly into the prepared muffin cups.

4. Bake for 17 to 22 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top springs back when lightly touched. Cool muffins in the tin on a wire rack.

You could eat this, but probably shouldn't.

2007-08-25T13:11:00.000-04:00

Today, in honor of having some extra children in the house, I've made playdough!

It's not hard to make. Although it always takes more salt and Cream of Tartar than I remember. To the right you see one of the sluglets kneading in the blue. Today I ran out of salt, and used substantially less. As you can see, the playdough turned out fine, but I may have compromised it's non-molding capacity. The best thing about this playdough is I find it softer, smoother, and less crumbly than the commercial kind. It's much more fun to work with, really.

Homemade Playdough

Ingredients:
4 cups All Purpose Flour
1/2 cup salt
1/4 cream of tartar
4 cups water
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Directions:
place flour, salt, and cream of tartar in a large pot and mix together
add water and oil, and mix together. Mixture will be lumpy

cook over medium heat approximately 3-5 minutes, until mixture thickens and forms a ball in the center around the spoon. Squarsh it around using the spoon to make sure the middle gets cooked as well.

Remove from heat and cool until it is not too hot to knead.

Divide into balls and knead food coloring into each ball. I usually make 3 colors with this quantity of playdough.

The playdough is non-toxic, but not really edible. Peanut Butter Playdough is a good choice for edible. Maybe I'll post that another day. It's a great choice for a fun special lunch.

Anyway... store in airtight containers, refrigerating prolongs it's life. I usually keep it in ziplock bags with the air squooshed out, and it usually lasts a few weeks before it molds. But I won't guarantee that.

Mmmmmmmm Glazed Ribs

2007-08-22T08:52:00.000-04:00

Thanks to InTheory for the link to this recipe, which I then (as usual) slugmomodified. I've got about 6 more rib recipes to try out this summer, I'd better get busy!

Glazed Ribs:

The original recipe is an Alton Brown recipe: Who Loves Ya Baby-Back?

Here's (more or less) what I did. I didn't have some of the spices, and didn't want to make it too spicy for the kids, and just winged all the measurements. So this is a post-cooking guestimate:

1 slab pork back ribs

Dry Rub:
4 tablespoons light brown sugar, tightly packed
1 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon Kroger knock-off Old Bay Seasoning
1/4 teaspoon rubbed thyme
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Braising Liquid:
1/2 cup cooking sherry wine
1 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tablespoon honey
2 cloves garlic, chopped

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. - Alton's recipe is at 250 for longer, but I was running out of time. So I cooked them at 300 for about 1.5 hours total

In a bowl, combine all dry ingredients and mix well. Place slab of baby back ribs on a piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil, shiny side down. Sprinkle each side generously with the dry rub. Pat the dry rub into the meat. Refrigerate the ribs for a minimum of 1 hour. (I really only refrigerated them for about 15 minutes, due to the time thing, again. I'm a cheater) In a microwavable container, combine all ingredients for the braising liquid. Microwave on high for 1 minute.

Place the ribs on a baking sheet. Open one end of the foil and pour halthe braising liquid into foil packet. Tilt the baking sheet in order to equally distribute the braising liquid. Braise the ribs in the oven for 2 1/2 hours. (like I said, mine were only 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 and a half hours at a higher temp)

Open the end of the foil and pour braising liquid into a medium/small saucepot. At this point I wasn't sure if I would have enough glaze, so I made another batch, using apple juice instead of cooking sherry/wine. Bring the liquid to a simmer and reduce by half or until of a thick syrup consistency. Mine did not get thick like syrup when reduced, so in the end I let it cool below boiling, added 1 T. brown sugar and about a half T. cornstarch, whisked it in, and brought it back to a boil to thicken. that worked pretty well.

Brush the glaze onto the ribs. Place under the broiler just until the glaze caramelizes lightly. Slice each slab into 2 rib bone portions. Place the remaining hot glaze into a bowl and toss the rib portions in the glaze.

*I halved the whole recipe, so the rub ingredients listed are already halved. Alton says: If more rub is needed, it can be extended by any amount, as long as the ratio of 8:3:1:1 remains the same. I winged the ratio kind of loosely.

Let's Call it Murleen's Meatloaf

2007-08-18T13:46:00.000-04:00

My friend gave this recipe to me. As you'll see in her amusing chatter below, she does not want to be identified. So I'm just going to call her Murleen. None of the following words are mine, I have preserved the recipe in it's originally received form because it pleases me.

Murleen's Meatloaf

OK. Here You Go (Correction Added)
Teena asked for my meatloaf recipe. I can't stand meatloaf so I looked and looked till I came up with something so delectable I could stand to make it.

It's a huge recipe because we are a huge family, but meatloaf is nice to freeze for a quick meal later on. Or do like I do sometimes and make tiny tiny meatballs or individual sized meatball (about as big as a child's fist). Serve with brown gravy.

Feel free to pass the recipe around but do not...repeat, DO NOT...attach my name to it. I don't want my name attached to meatloaf on any level.

Well, if that didn't take away your appetite for meatloaf, I don't know what will!

Meatloaf

6 lbs hamburger
2 cans evaporated milk
4 eggs
I package saltines (crunch them into tiny bits before you open the package)
1 (or more...whatever) cups oats
2 pkgs dried onion soup

Hmmm. Is there anything else in there? No. Nope. No, I don't think so. Yeah. That's it.

OK. Squish it together. Do not remove your wedding rings. They needed to be cleaned anyway, and this way you are SURE to get them cleaned this week.

Makes 3 meatloaves
or
A lot of single serving sized meatballs
or
A ton of tiny meatballs

All freeze really well. To freeze the meatballs, freeze them on a cookie sheet first, then put them into freezer bags. That way you can take out as many or as few as you like.

I'm a terrible person when it comes to cooking...you know, always cook on high, rarely follow a recipe, have a repretoire of 28 meals no more no less, loves washing the dishes (people who like to clean hate to cook and vice versa and don't tell me you are one of those people who love both because I don't want to hate you. It's a sin)...so I won't be making you endure too many recipes.

Of course, I make a killer Teriyaki Chicken. Mmmm. My Eggflower Soup is pretty tasty too. Oh. Pfeffer Nusseau. But I won't bother you with that one till the holidays...if then.

OK. No more recipes. Given a choice, I'd rather clean grout than cook. Of course, I love the way the grout turns from icky stains to clean beautiful white...but that's another post. On with life!

Oh yes. As [another friend] reminded me, the meat should be cooked.

Meatloaf 350 for 1-1.25 hours
Average meatballs 350 for 25-30 minutes
Tiny meatballs 350 for about 20 minutes

There you go. No sense in eating raw meatloaf if you don't have to.

MadCityDad's Skillet Blueberry Cobbler

2007-08-18T11:30:00.000-04:00

MadCityDad's Skillet Blueberry Cobbler
From MadCityDad on the Smack

ingredients:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
4 cups fresh or thawed frozen blueberries, divided
1/2 cup granulated sugar, divided
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon lemon zest*
1 tablespoon lemon juice*
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt*
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
In a nonstick, ovenproof 10-inch skillet** (see note below) over medium heat, melt the butter. Add 2 cups of the blueberries with 1/4 cup of the sugar, stirring frequently until the mixture has the consistency of jam, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Add the remaining 2 cups of blueberries, the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, the flour, lemon zest, lemon juice, and nutmeg to the cooked berries and stir to combine. Make sure all of the whole berries are evenly coated.

In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.

Combine the melted butter, milk, and vanilla and add to the dry ingredients. Continue to mix until well combined, scraping down the sides once. There may still be some lumps. Drop the batter over the fruit in large spoonfuls starting in the middle and working out to the sides, leaving a 1-inch border of exposed fruit around the outside edge. It will seem like there is a shortage of batter, but it will expand while baking.

Baking instructions:
Cook over Indirect Medium heat (about 350°F) for 20 minutes. For even cooking, carefully rotate the pan 90 degrees, being careful because the fruit mixture will be bubbling up. Continue to bake until a skewer inserted into the center of the crust comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes more.

Place the skillet on a wire rack and let stand for 10 minutes. Serve while still warm or at room temperature and top with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, or vanilla yogurt if desired.

* I did not remember to buy unsalted butter, so I used salted and omitted the salt
* I also had issues with my lemon zest. Next time I'll just use the bottled dried stuff or get a real zester gadget.

** An oven-safe skillet is NOT necessary for this! If you don't have one, make the blueberry goo in a skillet, then transfer to a nonstick or greased oven-safe pan. A 9" cake pan or 10" pie plate would work, or a square pan. Feel free to explore the world of pans in your cupboard. :-)

Makes 6 to 8 servings

Almost Forgotten Peanut Butter Pancakes

2007-08-18T11:03:00.000-04:00

dillsmom asked about these pancakes. I thought I'd posted them, but apparently not.

So here's the recipe! ...

Almost Forgotten Peanut Butter Pancakes

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/4 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups milk
1/3 cup peanut butter
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 egg

PREPARATION:
Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

Beat the egg.
Add milk and peanut butter to egg and beat until smooth.
Add the dry ingredients and beat just until well moistened.
Butter a pan or griddle or use non-stick cooking spray and heat on medium-high.
Spoon by quarter cupfuls into your pan or griddle.
Cook until brown on both sides.

These were good. The kids liked them. They weren't as puffy as my other pancakes, I'll have to research why. Someday. Not today.

If You Give a lVloose A Muffin ...

2007-08-17T09:36:00.001-04:00

Friday Morning's Muffins are brought to you by the letter, um, lVl

These lVloose-inspired muffins are as buttery as overpriced fancy lipstick, but without the excessive cost. As shiny as lipgloss, but sweeter on the lips, and much nicer to kiss. If you're into kissing muffins, that is.

Lemon Butter Muffins

Ingredients:
1 cup fresh lemon juice
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons dried lemon peel + 2 tsp. real lemon extract (or 4 T. fresh lemon rind, freshly grated)
1 cup butter, melted
2 cups flour, unsifted
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoons salt

glossy glaze:
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp lemon juice

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400. Grease 2 muffin tins well. Stir lemon juice, eggs and lemon rind into melted butter. In another bowl, mix together flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder and salt; make a well in the center. Stir in egg mixture and blend until well moistened. Pour into muffin tins, filling each cup about 2/3 full. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Makes 24 muffins.

while muffins cook, whisk sugar and lemon juice together in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. reduce to a simmer and whisk 2 minutes until slightly thickened. Brush glaze over tops of muffins while warm.

Notes: I reduced the salt to 1.5 tsp from 2 tsp and they were still a bit saltier than needed, so I reduced it more for this posting. Also ... the batter puffed right away. I'm sure it was some magic baking powder and lemon juice science. But they seem to have spent their puff a little too soon for the baking, they did not rise much beyond the initial puff, and some fell. So ... I'll have to ask my chemist father how to adjust that. But, despite those minor problems, these tasted great. The recipe was very similar to a pound cake recipe, only in quick-cooking muffin form, and with more liquid.

Banana Bread, and Blueberry Banana Bread

2007-08-15T11:25:00.000-04:00

We made this banana bread the other day. We were much too impatient to wait for it to cool to cut it, so it crumbled. I must remember to wait if I want better pictures. But then again, it was really tasty, so maybe we still came out ahead.

Modified only slightly from Cathy's Banana Bread, found at AllRecipes.com:

INGREDIENTS

* 1 cup mashed bananas
* 1 cup sour cream
* 1/4 cup butter
* 1 1/3 cups white sugar
* 2 eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* optional 1/2 cup blueberries (see babble, below)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour one 9x13 inch pan, or two 7x3 inch loaf pans.
2. Combine banana and sour cream. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and banana mixture. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; stir into the banana mixture. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan or pans.
3. Bake for 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean.

modifications ~ I doubled this, but did not double the butter. I poured it into two 9x5" loaf pans when I doubled it, and they took even longer than 50 minutes to cook, but after awhile I quit keeping track, just kept poking it every 5 minutes with a toothpick. I added 1 cup blueberries to one of the two loaves, and that one could've baked maybe another 10 minutes longer, it was very moist, although not uncooked, when done ...

For prettiest slices, cool before slicing. :-)

Ultimate Cornbread

2007-08-15T08:52:00.001-04:00

I am pleased to share this recipe with you. (With much extra rambling!) Not only is it very good, but it's also fairly healthy! I got it from the Real Food Living's Real Food Digest, which I'm not sure exists anymore. It was an email loop thing, and later a yahoo group. About using whole/real foods. Whole grains. Natural sugars. Stuff like that.

ANYway, we've always liked this corn bread. Even ParticleMan, who likes sweet 'candy' Jiffy Mix cornbread most of all. ;-) Don't go looking for that box of Jiffy Mix**, because I'm making up that title, sweet candy cornbread. Because it's so sweet. You know? Jiuffy doesn't really make one called that. But this whole food recipe is sweet enough.

Plus, it's great because, if you eat strict vegetarian (um, except for the honey) you can use flax seed to replace the egg and butter, and it's still good! Or you can make it with those things, and it's still good! Or you can mix and match your healthy choices, and it's still good! And if you eat strict vegan, not even honey, you could use agave nectar. I'm just sayin'.

Oh, so the recipe is written assuming you've got your grain mill and whole grains and are milling it fresh for the recipe. Which I did for awhile, until my grain mill choked on a popcorn seed and I found out that it's lifetime warranty doesn't help much if the company goes out of business. So now I (gasp!) buy store bought cornmeal and store bought flours and, hey, it's good enough for us, for now. I do want to say that the King Arthur brand "white whole wheat"* is quite good, for store bought whole wheat. Yeah yeah, I know it's healthier to mill your own. Enough already, on with the recipe.

Ultimate Corn Bread

If you want to make it in a skillet (corn pone, if you're in the South):

1/2 C. honey
2 eggs **or** ~2 T. ground flax seed
1 tsp. salt
1 C. whole wheat flour (try freshly ground pastry wheat) - you can sub AP flour if you'd like
2 C. yellow cornmeal (try freshly ground popcorn seeds)
1 TBSP baking powder
1 TBSP butter, melted ** or ** ~4.5 T ground flax seed
1 1/2 C. milk or buttermilk or rice milk

Or if you love it and want to make MORE in a 9x13 pan:

3/4 C. honey
3 eggs **or** ~3 T. ground flax seed
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 C. whole wheat flour (try freshly ground pastry wheat)
3 C. yellow cornmeal (try freshly ground popcorn)
1 1/2 TBSP baking powder
1 1/2 TBSP butter, melted ** or ** ~4.5 T ground flax seed
2 1/4 C. milk or buttermilk or rice milk

or just double it.

Beat eggs together then beat in honey, melted butter and milk. Sift flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt together. Stir into wet ingredients until well-mixed. Spread into oiled or buttered 10" or 12" skillet or the larger recipe in a 9 X 13 inch pan -- Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes (maybe a little longer in the 9x13 pan). Serve hot, with extra honey to drizzle!

I cooked mine 25 minutes in my heavy skillet for this latest batch, and used eggs, rice milk, and ground flax instead of the butter.

secret tip for even sweeter cornbread: notice that in the original recipe the honey + milk = 2 cups:
add a little more honey than the 1/2 cup, and add milk up to 2 cups *total* for those two liquids :-)

You can make it with all purpose flour instead of whole wheat, but it's really good (and not 'whole wheaty' WITH the whole wheat, so why not go for one step healthier?)

*White whole wheat flour is whole wheat. It's made from white wheat instead of read wheat berries, so it's lighter in both color and flavor. Many of the nutrients are lost quickly after milling, but it's still a little healthier than all purpose flour. Store it in the freezer to keep it as fresh as you can.

**Did you know Jiffy Mix is from Michigan? I didn't. But now I do. And so do you!

Baked Crab Rangoon

2007-08-13T21:49:00.000-04:00

I need to make this to get a picture of it, myself.

Here's a picture I, um, borrowed from this baked crab rangoon recipe at recipezaar, which is NOT the one I used for the base recipe of mine, but the rangoons still look pretty similar:

Baked Crab Rangoon

1/2 an onion, diced fine
8 oz pgk neufchatel cheese (light cream cheese)
4 oz canned crabmeat or Krab
package of wonton wrappers
cooking spray

adjust proportions to your tastes :-)

preheat oven to 350 degrees

blend onion, neufchatel cheese, and crab/Krab together

scoop ~1 T. into the center of wrappers and fold into the funky crab rangoon shape, or into boring triangles. Moisten fingertip with water to seal as you press wrapper together.

Place on a nonstick pan or pan lined with parchment paper (I recommend this)

spritz folded crab rangoons with cooking spray lightly from both sides

bake until wrappers are golden brown, about 15-20 minutes. If you make the pointy-cornered shape keep an eye on the tips overbrowning.

These were very much like the filling at our local chinese buffets. Using the Krab and low fat cream cheese makes these only about 30% calories from fat.

The original recipe called for 2 T. snow peas, chopped, and some minced garlic sauteed with the onion in some olive oil, and 2 tsp soy sauce ... but I didn't add those 'cause that wouldn't have been like our local ones.

Pretty Good Waffles

2007-08-13T17:45:00.000-04:00

I'm still in search of the perfect waffle recipe. Or, rather, I haven't found the perfect one and am only passively waiting for it to come to me. But in the meantime, I've got this pretty good one. The kids like them. They're not too fussy. So when I make homemade waffles, at this time, this is what I make.

Classic Waffles

ingredients:
4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp baking powder
4 Tbsp white sugar
4 eggs
3 cups warm milk (I use rice milk)
2/3 cup of butter, melted
2 tsp vanilla extract

directions:

1. In a large bowl whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar

2. Preheat waffle iron to desired temperature

3. In a separate bowl beat the eggs, then stir in milk, melted butter, and vanilla

4. Pour milk mixture into the flour mixture, beat until blended ~ dilute with a half cup more milk of batter is too thick.

5. Lightly oil waffle iron plates - I use vegetable oil and a pastry brush

6. Pour batter into preheated waffle iron. Cook until waffles are golden and crisp. Serve immediately.

My waffle iron has an indicator when it's up to temp and when the waffle is supposedly ready. It takes about 6 minutes on mine, per waffle-batch.

My waffle maker does a square of 4 waffles, and this recipe makes 7-8 of those, so about 30 waffles. They freeze and toast-to-reheat well.

Lemon Blueberry Drop Scones

2007-08-03T10:44:00.000-04:00

I've never made scones. I thought they were fancy. But when MadCityDad suggested them, I thought I could give them a shot. Turns out they're really just glorified biscuits! Who knew!

So this morning we had Lemon Blueberry Drop Scones:

The recipe I pulled from allrecipes.com -- Lemon Blueberry Drop Scones

I didn't make many changes ... I used dried lemon zest because it's what I had, no real lemons here. And I used plain fat free yogurt, rather than the lemon yogurt suggested, because it's what I had. I added about 1.5 tsp lemon flavoring, as well.

here is the recipe as I made it:

INGREDIENTS

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/3 cup sugar
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup plain fat free yogurt
* 1 egg
* 1/4 cup butter, melted
* 1 cup fresh blueberries*

GLAZE:
* 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
* 1 tablespoon lemon juice
* 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel

DIRECTIONS

In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. In another bowl, combine the yogurt, egg and butter. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in blueberries. Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto a greased baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15-18 minutes or until lightly browned. Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over warm scones.

*If using frozen blueberries, do not thaw before adding to batter.

Chocolate Chip & Peanut Butter Muffins

2007-07-29T18:54:00.001-04:00

Chocolate Chip & Peanut Butter Muffins

3 1/2 cups White Whole Wheat Flour
1 tsp salt
2.5 Tbsp baking powder
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup honey (or agave nectar)
2 Tbs flax seed, ground (optional)
3 cups water or rice milk or milk
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (use a vegan brand of chocolate to make these vegan muffins)

mix dry ingredients, then blend in peanut butter until the mixture is a grainy texture

Mix honey and water and add, mix to blend, then stir in chocolate chips.

Pour into a nonstick-lined 9x13 pan

Bake 25-30 minutes at 400 degrees

Cut into 24 square muffins

you can also bake in muffin tins, reduce time to 18-25 minutes

Cucumber Salsa

2007-07-23T19:09:00.000-04:00

I had cucumber salsa at a restaurant long ago. Couldn't find a recipe so I make it up, different, every time. If you don't have something, subsitute. I'll work. Trust your taste and intuition.

3 large cucumbers, peeled, seeded & diced
some red onion
a lot of garlic, minced
some cute little hot red peppers from Poppie's garden, minced - only I used some hot light green somethings this time ...
a large splash of lemon juice
ground cumin
some fresh cilantro if you like it, or dried if you don't have fresh (I know, I know, sorry food snobs)
a sprinkle of salt

serve with chips, lime chips are good. and pictured here.

or serve over corn

or serve with Linda's Rice Dish which I'll post some other day.

Chocolate Chip Pancakes

2007-07-20T11:49:00.000-04:00

Chocolate Chip Pancakes for breakfast today.

I used to make loserly pancakes. Now I make pretty and tasty ones.

The two things I learned are:

1.) don't try to make them healthy

2.) use the following recipe:

Perfect Pancakes

I tried to re-find where I found it online and I can not. So if anyone knows here this is from, let me know. I am not trying to steal someone's recipe, I'd love to give credit where credit is due.

It's the perfect recipe, and one that has treated me well for decades so I can't even be bothered to try to change it. I will give you a few secrets I've learned over the years to make these work better.

➢ You really will need two different bowls. One big one for the dry ingredients, and a smaller one for the wet ingredients. Once the wet ingredients are mixed together, you'll pour them into the dry. It's like pancake alchemy, and it's worth having to wash one more bowl.
➢ Whisk the sugar into the wet ingredients. This adds some air bubbles into the mix and makes them lighter and fluffier.
➢ Don't use a fork to stir the dry ingredients. It seems to make the baking powder and salt sink to the bottom. Use a wooden spoon.
➢ Once the wet and dry are mixed together, you've got about a half hour to get all the pancakes cooked. As the mix sits, the gases created by the baking powder will start to evaporate. The longer the batter sits, the denser and flatter the pancakes.
➢ Cook the pancakes in butter. It makes them brown better (the first batch in the skillet just won't be as brown as the next batches). To keep from over-greasing the skillet, wipe the wrapping from a stick of butter across the hot skillet.

Original recipe
1 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour 
2 teaspoons of baking powder 
1/2 teaspoon of salt 
2 tablespoons of granulated sugar 
1 egg 
1 cup of milk  (I sometimes use rice milk)
1 tablespoon of cooking oil

Slug Family Proportions (x3)
3 ¾ cups of all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons of baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons of salt
6 Tablespoons of granulated sugar
3 eggs
3 cups milk (rice milk)
3 Tablespoons of cooking oil
**optional ~ 1 scant cup mini chocolate chips (as seen here)

Cream Cheese & Chocolate Chip Cookies

2007-07-13T10:17:00.001-04:00

Made These for the Smack. Seems like so long ago, now ...

INGREDIENTS

* 1 cup butter, softened
* 4 oz cream cheese, softened
* 1 cup white sugar
* 1 egg
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 cup mini chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease cookie sheets or use parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, cream together butter, cream cheese, and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Stir in flour until well blended. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls. Cookies do not melt down round, so roll and flatten if desired.
3. Bake for ~15 minutes in preheated oven. Cookies should be pale.

These are a very light textured cookie. You could also make them with a cookie press or make thumbprint jam filled cookies with this recipe.

Modified slightly from this recipe

Albino Brownies

2007-07-13T09:55:00.000-04:00

A similar-but-different decadent treat

Albino Caramel Brownies*

1 package white cake mix
1/3 c. sweetened condensed milk
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
----
1 - 14 oz. package Kraft caramels
1/3 c. sweetened condensed milk
----
1 generous c. white chocolate chips

mix together cake mix, sweetened condensed milk, and melted butter
divide dough in half. Press first half in the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan
bake the base for 6 minutes at 350 degrees
meanwhile melt together unwrapped caramels with 1/3 c. sweetened evaporated milk, stir until smooth. Use a glass container and microwave or a double boiler.
pour melted caramel mixture over baked brownie base. If necessary, carefully spread caramel.
sprinkle white chocolate chips evenly over surface.
crumble remaining brownie dough evenly over surface
bake 18-22 minutes in 350 degree oven.

When cooled, gently loosen edges and place a large cutting board over the pan. Invert pan on to cutting board and press lightly, brownies should fall onto cutting board. Cut into 24 pieces.
----
* Adapted from Grandma's Monona UMC cookbook. No albinos are harmed in the making of this treat.

Banana Chocolate Chip Bars

2007-07-07T10:17:00.000-04:00

Modified from a banana bread recipe.

Wet Ingredients:
3 bananas, well smashed
1/4 cup applesauce (less healthy substitution - butter or oil)
1/4 cup honey
2 T flax, ground + 1/2 cup water (or 1 egg, beaten. or Ener-G egg substitute)
1 tsp. vanilla

Dry Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour (less healthy sub - AP flour)
1 cup oat bran, dry/uncooked (or sub oatmeal, uncooked)
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 scant cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Blend wet ingredients together
Mix in dry ingredients, mix well. Batter will be thick.
spread in a greased or lined 9x13 pan
bake ~20 minutes
cut into squares or bars, makes 24.

Spicy Soba Noodle Salad

2007-06-29T19:05:00.000-04:00

hot hot hot cool salad for the summer

all ingredients are approximate & to taste

salad:
a nice heap of chopped nappa cabbage and/or bok choy
cooked soba noodles (cold or still warm)
carrots cut into matchsticks
sliced green onions
handful of cashews

dressing ~ measure ingredients to taste:
1 T. peanut butter
1 generous T. honey
1 scant T. sriracha sauce * this is pretty spicy, so use less if you don't like hot
2 T. soy sauce
1 T. rice vinegar
1 T. cooking sherry
1 T. minced garlic

blend dressing together, pour over salad, mix & enjoy

Yogurt Chocolate Chip Muffins

2007-06-28T22:52:00.000-04:00

A little tangy, a little sweet, rather dense in a good way, a lot of chocolatey

wet ingredients:
2 c. plain fat free yogurt
1/4 cup water + 1 T. Ener-G egg replacer (or substitute 2 eggs)
2 c. vanilla rice milk (or substitute regular milk)
2 t. vanilla

dry ingredients:
3 c. all purpose flour
3 c. white whole wheat flour
1 cup sugar (actually, use 1.5 ~ I'd use a little more if I did it again)
1 c. chocolate chips
3 T. baking powder
1 t. salt

preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease (or use nonstick liner) a 9x13 pan

blend together wet ingredients, then dry ingredients separately, then mix until well incorporated. Add a little more rice milk if necessary. Pour into prepared pan and bake ~35 minutes until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.

The above recipe is modified several times from this one:

Chocolate Chip Muffins II

Cranberry White Chocolate Muffins

2007-06-18T08:38:00.001-04:00

INGREDIENTS
4 cups white whole wheat flour
1-1/2 cups white sugar
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
4 T. flax seed, ground, plus 1/2 cup water (or sub 4 eggs)
2 cups plain, fat free yogurt
1/2 cup applesauce
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
2/3 cup lemon juice
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup white chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 pan.
Combine the dry ingredients.
In a separate bowl mix the water, yogurt, apple sauce, lemon juice and lemon zest. Blend well and pour over the flour mixture. Mix until just combined. Do no overmix!
Spread batter evenly in the prepared pan. Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 30-35 minutes.
Let muffins cool in pans for 10 minutes before removing them from the pan.

For muffin pans bake ~20 minutes.

Makes 24 muffins.

Chocolate Chip Banana Squares

2007-06-14T09:00:00.000-04:00

Modified from a banana bread recipe.

Recipe to follow, I'm just posting the pic to remind myself.

Actually, it's the same base recipe as posted here: http://slugrecipes.blogspot.com/2007/07/banana-chocolate-chip-bars.html

main difference was oats instead of oat bran, I believe.

Cinnamon Toast Cake

2007-06-12T15:52:00.000-04:00

Careful, it's still kind of hot.

Modified from a Real Food Digest recipe

2 cups white whole wheat flour (substitute AP flour to unhealthify)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 T. cinnamon
1 cup brown sugar, loosely packed
1 cup rice milk (or regular milk)
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup applesauce (oil, to unhealthify)
1 Tbsp flax, ground + 2 T. water (or sub 1 egg)

~3 T. granulated sugar for topping
cinnamon for topping

preheat oven to 350 degress.
combine dry ingredients & wet ingredients separately. Mix together until well incorporated. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan (or use an excellent nonstick liner!) and sprinkle cinnamon and granulated sugar over the top.
Bake for ~25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

less healthified topping: instead of topping as above, use 2 T. butter. While cake is hot, poke all over with a toothpick or fork and rub butter over the top. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.