Perfect Microwave Baked Potatoes Recipe

Technically, these aren’t “baked” but they’re steamed.At any rate, I’ve always had a problem with baked potatoes. First, I don’t like cooking in foil. I didn’t used to mind it, but now I’m paranoid about aluminum and Alzheimer’s. That’s how I used to keep my potatoes moist, though, was by wrapping them in foil. Now my potatoes are dry and I have to add too many toppings like sour cream (fattening) to make it taste good.

Then, there’s the whole thing of using the oven for an hour just for a couple of potatoes. I don’t like wasting the electricity. It goes against my frugal nature and even the hippie in me isn’t happy with it. So, the microwave would be great for this, except I’ve had limited success with even this. Usually the potato comes out with patches of raw potato surrounded by overcooked bits.

My SO makes broccoli in the microwave with a little bit of water and a cover of saran wrap and it comes out great. I thought I would try this with a potato and I got great results. Perfectly soft, evenly cooked and very moist. So here’s what you do:

1. Wash 2 potatoes and poke holes in them with a fork (poke each about 5-6 times all around).
2. Put them in a glass pyrex dish or other microwave-safe bowl
3. Add a little bit of water, about 1/4 cup
4. Cover with a lid or plate slightly ajar or use plastic wrap
5. Microwave 5 minutes on high and then (watch out for escaping steam) turn the potatoes over
6. Microwave 5 minutes more and allow potatoes to rest for 2-3 minutes before serving

Note: Your microwave wattage may vary. Mine’s a small microwave, so a larger one might only need 3 minutes per side. Do watch out for escaping steam when you go to turn or serve these babies. I used this as an exercise to educate my son about the dangers of steam. I don’t think he realized how hot it can be or that it can really burn you.

Also, I’m still a bit paranoid about using plastic wrap in the microwave, but I’m not sure there’s any sound science behind it. I frequently use a microwave-safe glass plate when I cover bowls anyway, often because I’m heating a bun or roll on top of it, so that can certainly be done if you don’t want to take a plastics risk.

Alfredo Sauce Recipe

I remember when I was a kid and about the fanciest sauce I’d ever had on pasta was Kraft macaroni and cheese powder mixed with butter and milk. Butter if I was lucky. My mom probably used margarine most of the time. The first time I had alfredo sauce I was in my teens and I couldn’t believe the luxurious feel of it in my mouth. Talk about food porn!

Alfredo sauce really isn’t all that difficult to make, though. This recipe takes about 15 minutes and makes enough to cover a giant box of bowtie pasta.

• 1/2 cup butter (generally that’s a whole stick, 1/4 pound or 8 tablespoons)
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2-3 tablespoons cream cheese
• 1 pint heavy cream
• 3/4 cup grated parmesan
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Use a saucepan to melt the butter over medium heat.
2. Add the garlic and saute until golden brown, being careful not to burn. If your burner thinks medium is medium high then turn it down a tad. You want gentle heat for this recipe.
3. Add the cream cheese and whisk until it’s melted. This stage doesn’t look very appetizing, by the way.
4. Add the cream slowly, whisking as you go. Keep whisking until it comes to a gentle simmer. You don’t want to boil this or the cream gets all separated and weird looking.
5. Once it’s simmering, keep coming back to whisk often. Lower the heat if it’s bubbling too much. Keep simmering for about 15 minutes or until the sauce is as thick as you’d like it.
6. Add parmesan cheese and stir until the cheese is melted.
7. Remove from heat and add salt and pepper to your liking.
8. Pour over hot, drained noodles or serve in a dish for dipping breadsticks, etc.

Note: If you’re using a nonstick pan, use a plastic or silicone covered whisk so you don’t ruin your pan. This recipe takes a lot of whisking.

Spicy Baked Tilapia Recipe

Costco has these big bags of tilapia that are inexpensive, so I bought some. I’ve never done much with fish, living so far inland for most of my life. My significant other grew up next to an ocean, so he thinks all the fish we get around here is crap anyway. But he’ll happily eat tilapia, I’ve found.

As I was searching for recipes, I kept coming across the use of mayonnaise in baked fish and I was kind of grossed out by it even though I really dig mayo. It just seemed like so much. But if I put my “Alton Brown” hat on for a moment, I can see that the mayo is really just a delivery system for the spices and flavor. In its firm state, it suspends everything over the fish until it bakes down and becomes oil, which adds a nice browning (along with the butter) effect. At any rate, the mayo makes it awesome. Give it a try.

• 6-7 tilapia fillets
• lemon or lime juice
• 4 tablespoons butter (1/2 stick)
• 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• 2 teaspoons hot sauce (like Texas Pete or Frank’s Red Hot. If using Tabasco, only use a smidge.)
• 1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Butter a glass baking pan.
3. Place fillets in dish without overlapping.
4. Drip lemon or lime juice over fillets. If using fresh, I will use the juice of an entire fruit. If using concentrate, I just put a little squirt over each fillet.
5. Bake the fish about 15 minutes or until it’s starting to get flaky.
6. While it’s baking, put the butter, mayo, cheese, onions, hot sauce and seasonings in a bowl and mix well.
7. When the fish are just flaky, take them out and spread the mayo mix on each fillet.
8. Bake about 10 minutes more or until the tops start to take on a golden brown look.

Note: If you want to switch it up a bit, use lime juice on the fish, substitute finely chopped jalapenos for the onions and add a handful of chopped cilantro to the mayo mix. Serve with yellow or spanish rice or use in fish tacos. Yum!

I have also used vegenaise (see picture below) with success — it’s egg-free.

Fajita Pasta Bowls Recipe

I didn’t think that this would be quite as good as it is, but I’m tellin’ ya, I could eat it at least once a week.

• 16 ounces egg noodles
• 8 ounces sour cream
• 1/2 cup Fajita Marinade
• 2 teaspoons Tapioca Starch (or corn starch)
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• 1 green pepper, sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
• 4 chicken breasts, cut into thin strips

1. Cook vegetables in 1 tablespoon of oil until tender. Remove from skillet and keep warm.
2. Add remaining oil to skillet and cook chicken until cooked through.
3. While chicken is cooking, start cooking the pasta. Most egg noodles just need about 7-8 minutes, so they should be finished at the same time.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together sour cream, fajita marinade, tapioca starch, lime juice and spices.
5. When chicken is finished, add veggies back to the skillet and then add drained egg noodles.
6. Fold in sour cream mixture and keep cooking just until heated through.
7. Serve with lime wedges.

Hot Artichoke Dip Recipe

It’s almost holiday time so that means it’s time for me to start making artichoke dip. Everyone loves it. Set it out with some garlic bread, melba toasts or even just a box of wheat thins and watch it disappear.

• 2 large cans artichokes, drained and chopped
• 2 cups mayonnaise8 ounce package cream cheese
• 1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon Tony Cachere’s seasoning OR
• 2 teaspoons hot sauce (like Red Hot or Cholula) OR
• 1 teaspoon Tobasco sauce

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Mix all ingredients in a 2 quart casserole dish
3. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until bubbly and golden on top.
4. Serve right out of the oven.

French's Crunchy Onion Chicken Recipe

Seriously, I saw this simple recipe in a magazine ad and thought, “Hmmm… Maybe?” I mean, I love chicken and I love those crunch little onions (I can sit and eat them straight out of the can and they’re easily my favorite part of green bean casserole!) so this recipe should work, huh?

• 1 1/3 cups French’s French Fried Onions
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 beaten egg

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Crush the onions in a bag.
3. Dip the chicken in the egg and then coat in the onion crumbs.
4. Bake 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Moist Banana Cake Recipe

Freeze a cake right out of the oven? Yeah, sounds crazy, but give it a try. I’ve made this cake and skipped the freezing part and it makes a huge difference. Freezer = super duper moist. No Freezer = still good, but not quite as moist and good. It also makes the frosting easier. I’m one of those impatient types that always tries to frost a hot cake.

• 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 3-4 bananas)
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 3 cups flour (cake flour works best but all-purpose turns out just fine)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup softened butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• Cream cheese frosting
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.
2. Grease and flour a 9 x 13 cake pan.
3. In a small bowl, mix mashed banana and lemon juice.
4. In another bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt.
5. Cream together the butter sugar and vanilla, then beat eggs in one at a time.
6. Alternately fold in flour and buttermilk, a little of each at a time.
7. Fold in banana mix.
8. Pour batter in the cake pan and bake for one hour or until toothpick or knife inserted in center comes out clean.
9. Remove from oven and cool in the freezer for 30 minutes.
10. Frost cooled cake and sprinkle walnuts over top.

Eggless Blueberry Muffins Recipe

These are egg-free and you can make them vegan by omitting the butter and using soy or olive oil margarine or oil instead. These can be made in the toaster oven. (That’s where I always make them). Makes 6 muffins.

• 1/8 cup butter, melted
• 1/4 cup soy milk
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup blueberries (can use frozen or canned)

1. Preheat oven or toaster oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Mix together melted butter, soy milk, applesauce and vanilla.
3. Add sugar and mix well.
4. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
5. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, mixing only until the flour disappears.
6. Gently fold in blueberries.
7. Pour equal amounts into muffin cups sprayed with cooking spray and bake for about 30-35 minutes (may take longer depending on your toaster oven.)

Lime Chicken Wraps Recipe

• 2 cups cooked chicken, in strips or cubes
• 2 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1 cup corn
• 1 1/2 cups red and green pepper strips
• 1/2 cup red onion, chopped
• 1 cup baby spinach leaves
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 6-8 whole wheat flour tortillas
• Lime Vinaigrette

1. Put cooked chicken in large storage container with lime vinaigrette and allow to marinade at least 2 hours.
2. Whisk together mayonnaise and sour cream in a small bowl.
3. Lay tortillas out flat and spread with mayonnaisse / sour cream mixture.
4. Layer ingredients on tortillas evenly and in this order: chicken, spinach leaves, pepper strips, onion, tomatoes, corn.
5. Top with remaining marinade if desired, roll wraps up and serve.
6. If I’m in a hurry, I’ll use a can of Ro-tel, well drained, in place of the tomatoes and I will substitute part of the lime juice in the vinaigrette recipe for the Ro-tel liquid. Spices it up a bit.

Foil Pack Mexican Chicken and Potatoes for Two Recipe

My mom used to always throw a bunch of whatever she had on hand in foil, wrap it up and throw it in the oven. Sometimes it turned out well, sometimes (depending on what was in the fridge or pantry) it turned out really weird. This recipe turned out pretty good. The potatoes were tender and the juice looked like a lot coming out, but it was like a flavorful gravy to drag your chicken around in and both plates were clean at the end of the meal. Yum.

• 2 medium potatoes, peeled if desired, sliced about 1/4 inch thick
• 1 jalapeno, chopped
• 1/2 onion, sliced thin
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese
• 4 tablespoons salsa
• ground coriander
• salt and pepper
• Cooking oil spray
• Lime wedges (optional)
• Sour cream (optional)
• Cilantro (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Tear off two sheets of foil in 1 foot lengths and lay side by side and spray with cooking oil spray.
3. Divide the chicken, jalapenos and onions between the sheets, arranging in the center.
4. Sprinkle with coriander, salt and pepper and lay chicken breast on top of potato pile.
5. Sprinkle cheese over each breast and then add 2 tablespoons of salsa on each.
6. Close foil by rolling up all edges, but leave some room inside for heat and steam to circulate.
7. Place both packs on a cookie sheet and bake for about 30 minutes or until chicken is done.
8. Cut a slit in the top to vent and slide entire contents onto a plate.
9. Serve with lime wedge, sour cream and fresh cilantro on the side, if desired.

Rice Noodles with Chicken, Carrots and Brussels Sprouts Recipe

This recipe takes a few steps and pots, but when you put it all together, it’s really worth it.

• 1/2 pound rice noodles (I like the flat ones)
• 1 carrot, cut into matchsticks
• 15 Brussels sprouts, each cut in half
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 chicken breasts, sliced very thin
• 1 tablespoon chili sauce (not that sweet Heinz crap, but like the hot cock sauce you see at Asian restaurants. OK, I laugh every time I say that. It’s like I’m 12 or something.)
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 cup green onions, chopped

1. First, boil a large pot of water and then remove it from the heat.
2. Add the rice noodles to this pot of water and and let them soak for about 20 minutes or as long as it will take to make everything else…
3. Take 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter and heat in a skillet on medium heat.
4. Add Brussels sprouts, cut side down on one side of the pan and pile carrots up on the other side.
5. Cover and lower heat to medium low.
6. Do not stir or remove cover for about 15 minutes or until sprouts are tender and caramelized on the bottoms.
7. After 15 minutes, add garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes more, making sure not to burn garlic, then remove from heat and set aside.
8. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a wok or skillet over medium high heat and add chicken. Stir fry until completely cooked.
9. Add soy sauce, chili sauce and brown sugar, stirring until all the sugar is dissolved.
10. Drain noodles and add them to the wok or skillet along with the carrots and Brussels sprouts and stir fry together until everything is coated and uniformly heated.
11. Top with green onions and serve with more chili sauce if desired.

I’ve made this with a variety of veggies including onions, broccoli and asparagus.

Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 8 ounce package softened cream cheese
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1. Beat all ingredients until smooth.
2. Frost cooled cake, bread or cupcakes.
3. Goes great on chocolate cake, carrot cake, spice cake or banana bread.

Lime Vinaigrette Recipe

Have you looked on the back of your salad dressing bottle lately? I can’t believe how many unpronounceable ingredients some of them have. If that’s not your cup of tea, try this simple lime vinaigrette.

• 1 tablespoon lime zest
• 1 cup lime juice
• 3 tablespoons olive oil or canola oil
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1. Whisk all ingredients together in a salad bowl.
2. Add salad ingredients (greens, lettuce, cabbage, tomatoes, green onions, carrots, whatever floats your boat…) and toss until all is coated well.

Fajita Marinade Recipe

• 1/2 c. olive or canola oil
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 teaspoons dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 cup vinegar (try different kinds for different flavors)
• 1/4 cup lemon or lime juice
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt

1. Mix all ingredients in a large storage container
2. Add meat and allow to marinade for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight.

Caramelized Brussels Sprouts Recipe

If you haven’t ever cooked Brussels sprouts before or if you have anyone in your family who is reluctant to eat them, this recipe is a great place to start.

• 15 Brussels sprouts, cut in half lengthwise
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• Parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Melt butter and olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.
2. Add Brussels sprouts, cut side down.
3. Cover and reduce heat to medium low.
4. Do not stir or lift cover for 15 minutes.
5. After 15 minutes, add garlic and stir sprouts, cooking for 2-3 minutes more, being careful not to burn garlic.
6. Serve and sprinkle with cheese and salt and pepper if desired.

Eggless Toaster Oven Brownies Recipe

Well, of course I can’t make a regular brownie recipe without adapting it for my kiddo who is allergic to eggs and corn. Here’s a version of brownies for the toaster oven (makes 6 brownie “muffins”) that has won my kid’s seal of approval.

• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 2 Tablespoons melted butter
• 3 Tablespoons cocoa
• 1/4 cup sugar (I use half brown sugar and half regular sugar)
• 1/4 cup + 1/8 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat toaster oven to 350.
2. Spray 6-cup muffin tin with spray oil or wipe with paper towel / canola oil.
3. Stir applesauce and melted butter together.
4. Add cocoa and stir well.
5. Add sugar and stir well.
6. In a small bowl, use a fork to mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.
7. Add dry mix to the wet ingredients.
8. Stir gently and stop mixing just when you can’t see the white of the flour any more.
9. Gently fold in chocolate chips.
10. In toaster oven, bake about 30 minutes.
11. You can also make this in a regular oven — bake about 22 minutes.

Tips:

I mix this all by hand. If you mix muffins or brownies with beaters they turn out like dry rocks from overworking the flour.

You can make this vegan by omitting the butter and using canola oil instead and make sure you use vegan chocolate chips.

For flavor, add 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or Kahlua.

Toaster Oven Brownies Recipe

I would like to thank Conn’s for the recent $50 gift card that enabled me to purchase my first toaster oven. The summers in Texas are hot, hot, hot so I don’t turn the oven on very often. This is sad and leads to me not posting here a lot because I prefer baking and broiling over most other cooking methods. I should call this recipe-a-month the way I’ve been cooking lately.

At any rate, the toaster oven I bought has gotten horrible reviews at Amazon, but I can’t see why. So far, it’s made everything I’ve thrown in it perfect and has not caught my house on fire. My boyfriend laughs at me when I read the manuals on these things, but hey, I have to attribute some of those bad reviews to user error where RTFM would have come in handy. Best of all have been these brownies (boyfriend’s favorite breakfast — I have no idea how he stays so slim) and the house stays cool and I make just enough for him (6 muffins) so I don’t eat too many myself.

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/3 cup cocoa
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup flour

1. Heat toaster oven to 350 degrees 5.
2. Melt butter.
3. Stir in cocoa first, then sugar. Hand stir this whole recipe — don’t use a blender!
4. Add eggs one at a time and stir in completely.
5. Add flour and stir just until you no longer see any flour bits. Don’t overmix or your brownies will turn out like bricks.
6. Pour batter into a 6-cup muffin tin (which fits perfect in my toaster oven) that is non-stick or sprayed with cooking spray.
7. Bake for about 20 - 25 minutes depending on your oven. Mine is super small and takes the full 25 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the middle will not come out clean, but when they’re done it will come out with moist crumbs instead of batter slime.

Cajun Seasoning Recipe

Sometimes I see a recipe that calls for Cajun seasoning. I’m generally not one on buying spice mixes since I buy so many spices in bulk. I can usually figure out what’s in them or come up with a reasonable facsimile like this one:

Mix together equal parts of…

• black pepper
• garlic powder
• onion powder
• cayenne pepper
• paprika

Blueberry Syrup Recipe

I like to make pancakes and then freeze them. That way my son can easily make his own breakfast. I found, however, that when I freeze blueberry pancakes they turn out a little odd… soggy and the blueberries heat up faster than the rest of the pancake in the microwave. I decided to just make plain pancakes and this syrup for the same taste as blueberry pancakes.

• 2 1/2 cups blueberries (if frozen, be sure to thaw first)
• 3/4 - 1 cup cup sugar (more if you like it sweeter)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

1. Simmer 10 minutes.
2. Cool and bottle (I like to use the Good Seasons Cruet for syrups).
3. Keep in the fridge.

Eggless Sugar Cookies Recipe

Oh, and to add to yesterday’s post, here’s the recipe I started to make before I made all the adaptations… I haven’t actually made these yet, but thought you might like to compare and see how I get from a starting point like this (which should turn out to be a rather flat, crisp sugar cookie) to the ooey, gooey chocolately cookie I actually ended up with.

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda.
3. In another bowl, cream together the butter, sour cream, milk and vanilla.
4. Mix in the flour / sugar mixture.
5. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a well-seasoned or nonstick cookie sheet.
6. Flatten each with a fork and sprinkle with sugar.
7. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Eggless Chocolate Chip Chocolate Cookies Recipe

This recipe was actually a mistake. I had a pile full of recipes that I was working to adapt into something egg-free / corn-free for my son and I started to make what I thought was one cookie, but I realized midway through that it was not the right one. So, I kind of just went with it. They turned out nice and soft — almost like a brownie taste in a bite-sized cookie. Nice.

• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 2 teaspoons Kahlua
• 1 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda.
3. In another bowl, cream together the sugars, butter, sour cream, milk and Kahlua.
4. Mix in the flour mixture.
5. Add chocolate chips.
6. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a well-seasoned or nonstick cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.

Important to note here for allergy folks:

• As far as I know, everything in Kahlua is made from sugar (the alcohol is distilled from sugar) and my son has never reacted to it. Your mileage may vary, of course. I use Kahlua instead of vanilla in recipes since vanilla almost always contains corn-distilled alcohol. I’ve run out of my home brew (vanilla pods + spudka potato vodka) and didn’t think that the mere 1/2 cup sugar would give much vanilla flavor if I used our vanilla sugar… mess around with it and do what works for your own allergies / tastes.
• Daisy sour cream (full fat version) is the only kind I’ve found in my area that doesn’t add corn ingredients as thickeners or whatnot.
• Use a baking powder (like Hain’s Featherweight) that doesn’t have corn starch if making corn-free.

Interesting: Bread as Plate

I’m reading this eBook: Manners, Customs, and Dress During the Middle Ages, and During the Renaissance Period by Paul Lacroix.

It has an interesting bit about bread. I guess this is one way to do without a plate:

“It must be stated that the custom of leavening the dough by the addition of a ferment was not universally adopted amongst the ancients. For this reason, as the dough without leaven could only produce a heavy and indigestible bread, they were careful, in order to secure their loaves being thoroughly cooked, to make them very thin. These loaves served as plates for cutting up the other food upon, and when they thus became saturated with the sauce and gravy they were eaten as cakes.”

Other interesting bits about food:

“…peas passed as a royal dish in the sixteenth century, when the custom was to eat them with salt pork.”

In reading some of Michael Pollan’s books (just finished In Defense of Food) it inspired me to try and figure out what people used to eat back in the day. Peas and salt pork. Go figure. Simple, but probably really delicious. I think pork enhances anything “green.” Ha.

“In the time of Bruyérin Champier, physician to Henry II., raspberries were still completely wild; the same author states that wood strawberries had only just at that time been introduced into gardens, ‘by which,’ he says, ‘they had attained a larger size, though they at the same time lost their quality.’ “

Sounds like modern agriculture, actually… sacrificing quality for quantity.

“Although the consumption of butchers’ meat was not so great in the Middle Ages as it is now, the trade of a butcher, to which extraordinary privileges were attached, was nevertheless one of the industries which realised the greatest profits.”

Not so much today… cheap meat and those working at the slaughterhouse are not held too high in our society, no?

Gold Rush Brownies

• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 6 ounces chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Mix all ingredients and place in a buttered 8×8 pan.
3. Bake for 30 minutes.
4. Allow brownies to cool before cutting.

Hamburger Stroganoff Recipe

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 can (8 ounces) mushroom stems and pieces
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 cups cooked egg noodles or rice
• parsley (optional)

1. Brown beef and onion in butter a large skillet until onion is tender.
2. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more.
3. Stir in flour, salt, pepper and mushrooms and cook 5 minutes more.
4. Stir in soup and lower heat to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes, uncovered.
5. Stir in sour cream until heated through.
6. Serve over noodles or rice, sprinkled with parsley.

Orange Sugar Cookies Recipe

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon orange juice concentrate
• 3 tablespoons orange zest
• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Cream butter and half the sugar.
3. Add eggs one at a time, beating well.
4. Add orange juice and 1 tablespoon of the orange zest.
5. Whisk together flour and baking powder and then add to the wet ingredients.
6. Wrap dough in wax paper and put in fridge for 2-4 hours.
7. Roll dough to about 1/4 inch.
8. Cut with a cookie cutter and bake on an oil-sprayed or nonstick cookie sheet.
9. Mix remaining sugar and orange zest and sprinkle on cookies.
10. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

Garlic Butter Green Beans Recipe

So, I bought some fresh green beans, but I never really know what to do with them besides just steam them or whatnot. My boyfriend has a number of favorite things he likes in his food, so I thought, I wonder if I can come up with something that combines all of that… and well, here it is.

• 3 cups fresh green beans, cleaned, ends trimmed and snapped in half
• 2 cups water
• 3 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oi
• 2 strips bacon cooked and crumbled
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Bring water to a boil.
2. Add green beans and reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Drain beans and set aside.
4. Return empty pot to stove and add butter and olive oil.
5. When butter is melted, add garlic and saute until it reaches the color you like (we like it nice and brown).
6. Add beans back to pan along with bacon crumbles and toss, heating throughout.
7. Add salt and pepper and serve.

Tahini Dressing Recipe

• 3 tablespoons tahini (sesame seed paste - this used to be hard to find but I’ve seen it at Wal-Mart even lately)
• 7 Tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• juice of one lemon
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika

1. In a bowl, mix tahini and water until thoroughly blended.
2. Add garlic, lemon juice and parsley and whisk just a few times.
3. Sprinkle paprika over the mix.
4. Serve with a salad, with veggies or over fish.

Eggless, Dairy Free, Corn-Free Chocolate Chip Cake (or Muffins) Recipe

Another recipe I concocted for my kiddo and his allergies… (see this recipe for notes on Kahlua, etc.) I was really amazed at the moisture level of this cake. Really good stuff.

1. 2 cups flour
2. 1 cup sugar
3. 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
4. 1/2 teaspoon salt
5. 1 cup chocolate chips
6. 1 cup club soda
7. 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
8. 2 teaspoons Kahlua

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Butter and flour an 8 x 8 or other similarly sized cake pan.
3. Sift flour, salt and baking soda into a bowl.
4. Add sugar and chocolate chips and give a stir.
5. Make a well in the middle of the mix and add the club soda, vinegar and Kahlua.
6. Stir just until it’s all combined. Don’t overmix.
7. Pour batter into pan and bake for 30 minutes.

Note: These make great muffins, too. Also, you could add a frosting, but we’ve found that with the chips and the general moisture level of this, it does not really need it.

Eggless Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

• 1 cup butter
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup boiling water
• 2 cups quick cooking oats
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1 - 2 cups chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cream butter, sugars and vanilla together.
3. Add flour and salt to butter mix and blend well.
4. Dissolve the baking soda in the boiling water and add to the sugar / flour mix.
5. Stir in oats, raisins and chocolate chips.
6. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheet.
7. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies Recipe

This was one of my favorite recipes when I was a kid because I was forbidden to turn the oven on when I was home alone.

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 3 cups quick cooking oats
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

1. Add butter, sugar, milk and cocoa to a pan and bring to a boil.
2. Boil for 1 minute.
3. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter, oats and vanilla.
4. Drop by tablespoons onto wax paper and allow to cool.

Hint: You may need more or less oats, so don’t be afraid to add more if the dough looks too thin or wet.

Chili Popcorn Recipe

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 6 cups popped popcorn

1. Melt butter.
2. MIx all ingredients into butter and drizzle over popcorn.

Sausage and Kale Soup Recipe

I’m so mad at myself. I really love soup. When I make soup I usually make a big batch and then freeze some. That way I don’t have to reach for canned varieties too much. I can just head to the freezer for my favorites.

So, I made this soup — which turned out wonderful — and then I left it on the stove to cool down so that I could put it into containers for freezing. Then, I promptly went to play Mario Kart Wii and forgot all about my soup. I woke up this morning and started making Jacob’s lunch and voila! There the soup still sat, spoiled on the stove.

Don’t do that! Instead, make this delicious soup and then remember to freeze some for later.

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 bunch kale
• 1/2 head green cabbage
• 4 cups chicken broth (or 1 full container of those square packs like Pacific Foods — my personal fave and corn-free)
• 1 pound sausage, cut into chunks or thin slices (you can use any variety of sausage here, smoked sausage like Eckridge, andouille, linguica, boudin, chorizo, whatever… use what you like)
• 1 lb diced potatoes
• 1 can large red beans
• 1 can small red beans
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• salt and pepper to taste
• water as needed during simmering

1. Wash kale, remove stems and chop.
2. Shred cabbage and set both kale and cabbage aside.
3. Heat olive oil and saute onions until translucent.
4. Add sausage and saute until sausage is cooked through (if you used raw) or heated through (if you used smoked or precooked).
5. Add garlic and saute 1 minute more.
6. Add kale and cabbage and saute until it starts to wilt just slightly (about 2 minutes).
7. Add UNDRAINED tomatoes and beans, then add potatoes, chicken stock and all other ingredients.
8. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a slow simmer for about 1 hour.
9. Add 1/2 to 1 cup water at a time if needed to maintain soupy consistency.
10. Serve with crackers or bread.

Peanut Sauce Recipe

Whenever we go somewhere and get spring rolls I love to get the peanut dipping sauce. I made spring rolls at home a while back and had no idea how to make the sauce. I consulted a bunch of recipes online, but none of them came out right. There were some tastes that were missing. I started experimenting a bit and here’s what I came up with.

• 1 cup natural creamy peanut butter
• 2 cups broth (I’ve used chicken and beef, both work great)
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1/8 cup soy sauce
• 1/8 cup minced ginger
• 1/8 cup Chili Sauce

1. Add all ingredients to a pan and bring to a boil.
Lower heat and simmer for about 5 minutes.

I use this as a dipping sauce and I also use it stirred into final dishes like stir fries and such. Yum!

Basil Shrimp Orzo Recipe

I’ve been on a real orzo kick lately. I guess I’m just tired of turning to boxed mixes of rice and pasta and not only that, most of them have corn in them in some fashion (dextrose or maltodextrin, etc.) so we can only eat the mixes when Jacob’s not here for dinner.

This recipe seems like it has a lot of ingredients and steps, but it’s actually pretty simple. I also thought it would be a bit much with a full 8 ounces of feta, but it turns out the feta is one of the best parts. The leftovers (if you manage to have any) are great the next day — kind of like a lasagna, the orzo soaks up all the flavorful goodness.

• 1 cup orzo
• 1 1/2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups diced tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced scallions
• 1 cup crumbled feta
• 1 teaspoon lemon rind
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• pepper to taste
• butter or cooking spray for pan

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Butter a 13×9 glass pan or spray with cooking spray.
3. Cook the orzo for about 5 minutes and drain.
4. Toss in a large bowl with the olive oil, tomatoes, scallions, feta, lemon rind, lemon juice and salt.
5. When mixed well, pour into the buttered pan.
6. Mix the shrimp and basil (you can use the same big bowl you just emptied of the orzo) and pour evenly over orzo in pan.
7. Cover with foil and bake for about 35 minutes or until shrimp is pink and cooked through. The feta will be melted and it should be bubbling.
8. Pepper to your liking and serve with fresh Italian or French bread to soak up the juices.

Chocolate Bon Bons Recipe

Because my boyfriend thinks that all I do is sit around the house and eat bon bons, I dedicate this delicious recipe to him. They’re really quite easy to make. Contrary to what he thinks, I’ve never had occasion to make them until now.

• 1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• cooking spray
• powdered sugar, sweetened cocoa, sprinkles, nonpareils for decoration

1. Mix sweetened condensed milk and cocoa in a non-stick pan and bring to a boil.
2. Cook over medium to medium-high heat for 15 minutes, stirring constantly. (That’s the hardest part of the whole gig!)
3. Remove from heat and add butter and salt.
4. Allow to cool and drop by teaspoonfuls onto a pan lined with waxed paper.
5. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
6. Spray hands with cooking spray and shape each dollup into a ball or square.
7. Roll in sweetened cocoa, powdered sugar or decorate with sprinkles and nonpareils and keep in an airtight container in the fridge.
8. Eat liberally while watching soap operas.

Egg-Free, Corn-Free Brownies Recipe

This recipe is another one of those adaptations made for my son, who is allergic to corn and egg. Corn folks, watch your ingredients — Here I use King Arthur flour, pure cane sugar and of course, non-iodized sea salt. Also, the sugar is a homemade vanilla sugar that I keep on hand. I just put a few cups of sugar in a tin with several vanilla pods. Every time I take a cup out, I mix a cup back in, that way I never need to use vanilla with corn distilled alcohol or corn syrup added to it. I also have a jar of potato vodka with a vanilla bean in it, but it’s not quite ready for use yet. It seems to take a while to get going… If you’re only going for corn-free and don’t care if it’s eggless, add in 2 eggs and omit the oil and banana.

• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 cup sugar (or vanilla sugar — just omit the vanilla below)
• 1 Tablespoon oil (like sunflower or canola if you don’t react to that)
• 1 mashed banana (small to medium sized)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla (again, omit if using vanilla sugar)
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 to 1 cup Chocolate chips (Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet and Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Morsels are corn-free), walnuts, raisins, or whatever you would like to add in… it’s up to you. I usually add 1/2 cup of chocolate chips because I’m a haus like that.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Butter or oil an 8 x 8 pan.
3. Mix melted butter and cocoa until smooth and cocoa is completely blended in.
4. Add sugar and stir well.
5. Add vanilla, oil and banana and stir well.
6. Add flour, salt and baking soda — stir only until you can’t see the flour any more. In fact, for this whole recipe don’t use a blender or anything. I just use a rubber spatula to stir it all up.
7. Add chocolate chips (or whatever your preferred add-in is) and stir till they are just mixed into the batter.
8. Then spread into the pan and bake for 30 minutes. Don’t cook for much longer than this or they turn out too dry. You can’t do the cake test with these, either. A toothpick or knife will not come out clean, especially if you used chocolate chips.

Smoked Sausage and Cabbage Recipe

This is really comfort food to me. My mom was always making stuff like this when I was a kid but I never knew the recipe. Then my neighbor made something similar and out of the blue brought me over a Tupperware dish full of it. Here’s my version…

• 4 strips of bacon
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 Tablespoons chopped garlic
• Tony Cachere’s Creole seasoning (to taste)
• Pepper (to taste)
• 1 head of cabbage, chopped
• 1 can Ro-Tel tomatoes (whatever variety you like)
• 1/2 can water
• 1 pound smoked sausage (I use Holmes Smokehouse pecan smoked because it’s good and local, but you could use Eckridge or whatever you like)

1. Dice up the bacon (or do like I do and just use some scissors to cut it up) and fry in a large pot (dutch oven sized) until crispy. Set aside on paper towels to drain.
2. Use the bacon grease and the same pan to fry the onions until they are translucent.
3. Add the garlic and fry about a minute more.
4. Add the cabbage, tomatoes and water.
5. Season with Tony’s and pepper. (You can add red pepper flakes, too, if you like it hot)
6. Cover the pot, reduce heat to medium low and let the cabbage steam down until it’s as soft as you’d like.
7. Add bacon and diced up smoked sausage and cook until the sausage is heated through.
8. This is best served with hot rolls and mustard, but my son will eat it rolled up in a warm tortilla. Odd, but he likes it.

Chinese Chicken Noodles Recipe

I love cabbage. But I really dislike cole slaw. And that seems to be the way that most folks get their cabbage around here. In an effort to get more of this good stuff into my diet, I’ve been adding it anywhere noodles would go, since they blend in so well. Here’s just one such recipe.

• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 3 cups thinly sliced cabbage
• 1 cup chopped green onions
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic (less if you prefer, I just looooove garlic)
• 8 ounces spaghettini or angel hair pasta
• 4 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 cups chicken or pork, cooked and diced
• 1 cup bean sprouts (fresh or canned, if canned — drain first)
• sesame seeds

1. Heat oil and sesame oil in a wok or skillet over medium heat.
2. Saute the cabbage and onions for 3-4 minutes or until cabbage is tender.
3. Meanwhile, cook the pasta (angel hair only takes 4 minutes so can cook while the cabbage and onions are cooking) according to the directions on the package.
4. Drain pasta and add to cabbage and onions along with the chicken (or pork), sprouts and garlic.
5. Cook until everything is heated evenly and add soy sauce to taste (about 4 tablespoons, but you might like more or less, let your taste buds be your guide).
6. Serve immediately and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Bread Machine Doughnuts Recipe

My son, who is allergic to corn and egg, loves doughnuts. It’s pretty hard to find a doughnut out in the wild that doesn’t have one or both of those ingredients. I found a recipe recently that called for egg and adapted it a bit. I’ll include the original recipe and my adaptations as well. These turned out great both fried and baked (350 F for about 15 minutes or more). The baked version was more like a really sweet roll and we slathered them with butter and honey and cinnamon sugar. Yum.

• 1 1/4 cup milk
• 1 beaten egg (or 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder to go eggless)
• 1/4 cup shortening (or 1/4 cup butter to go corn free or if you just don’t like the idea of shortening)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 1/2 cups white flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast (I upped it to 2 teaspoons to make up for the loss of egg, which acts as a bit of a binder and leavening in this recipe, I believe)
• Enough oil for frying

1. Put the ingredients (except oil for frying) into your bread pan in the order recommended by your manufacturer. My order, fyi, is exactly as listed here w/ yeast going on top of the flour).
2. Use the dough setting and start the machine.
3. When the dough is done, roll it out on a floured space till it’s about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick.
4. Cut with a donut cutter or use cups and caps to give the same effect. (I’ve used a wide mason jar and a medicine cup before, no joke!)
5. Let rise about 30 minutes until doubled.
6. Heat oil to 375 F and cook doughnuts, turning once, until both sides are browned evenly and to your liking.
7. Drain on paper towels and top however you’d like.

About Me and Food

Why this?

I really miss cooking "normally" so I'm going to work on this blog and see if it doesn't satisfy that part of me. These days cooking is all done within a rotation for my son's allergies, so I miss mixing up certain foods. My significant other, who hasn't had an allergy a day in his life and has no family history, is a bit bored with the rotation as well. I'm trying to lose weight, though not quite whole-heartedly yet, but I'm trying to get in the habit of "half now, half later" and eating six small meals per day. I've long been suspicious that my metabolism is very slow and that I do bad things to make it angry (like not eating all day and then eating a gigantic dinner) and keep me chunky.

Another problem that the rotation has created is that it used to be that I'd make enough food for my SO to take to work for lunch and then my son would eat lunch at school. Now the leftovers are always for my son who can't eat school food because of his allergies and I never have enough to send with my SO. So he either ends up eating out, which is crap and costs money (and I'm kind of a frugal nut) or he doesn't eat at all and shows up after work like he's dyin' ovah here. I figure this way I can make Jacob's food and have enough for his lunch and enough to freeze into some TV dinners for emergency use and have enough with the "normal" meals for leftovers for SO and for me to spread out into my six itty bitty meals.

I have no idea if that will work, but we shall see. I have this hunch that I'm going to end up doing OAMC (once-a-month cooking) on Jacob's food... it's starting to make sense in my mind since his rotation is the same foods over and over for each day. (For more about the rotation, you can read all the bitching about it on my personal blog or look at the site I created for a library / web class I was taking this summer.)

About Me

I ain't quite right, as my SO would say. I think that means I'm a little bit different or quirky or something. I look around me though and I figure I'm about as normal as anyone else and I struggle with many of the same things. I can get on my high horse once in a while, but I fall off it soon enough and recognize my place in life. I guess it's part of the never-ending growth process we all go through. Or perhaps it's hindsight. Or maybe it's trying to find right and wrong, black and white, in a world that is filled with so many grey areas. Even realizing these things is a conflict for me these days. I'm a Democrat who is really more like a Libertarian. I'm a parenting writer who feels like I'm warping my kid for life, sometimes. I'm a hippie who uses bleach. I'm a frugal domestic goddess who paid $300 for a purse without apology. Madonna. Whore. Complex.

I guess what it all really means is that I'm either a hypocrite or the labels I think society has for me just don't fit all the time. And I think that's probably a lot of what's wrong with the country these days. Everyone wants everything to fit in these neat little categories and boxes and really, it's just not that way. Almost nothing fits, when you get down to what's real. The bridge between theory and practice is a long one.

How does this relate to my cooking, you might be wondering...

Well, just like the Three Faces of Eve that exist in my personal and professional life, I'm a bit of a schizophrenic in my cooking. On one side, I've got the allergy cooking that is corn-free, egg-free, and tightly controlled. On the other side, I've got the haphazard, throw-a-can-of-soup-to-make-gravy way of cooking for my SO. Oh, and on the third side, I'm just so tired from all the irons I've got in the fire so make a damn sandwich and leave me alone.

I think that's not too far off from a lot of moms. So you probably won't see too many recipes that are fancy-schmancy here. Most of the time it will be easy stuff that won't kill you to make and may or may not kill you to eat. Sometimes it might be wholesome, hypoallergenic food that tastes like food probably tasted hundreds of years ago before corn got so big. Other days it might be pre-processed and rearranged corn molecules in the form of a meal.

This is what happens at my house.

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