You could eat this, but probably shouldn't.

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

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

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

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

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 ...

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

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. :-)