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Saturday, May 18, 2002 ( 7:09 PM ) MB So many of the things I cook, I do by "feel". This is why most of the recipes I have to share are for desserts. I do use recipes for these and any changes I make are just small variations or substitutions. My earliest memory of cooking was making some brownies with my grandmother. We found the recipe in a Highlights Magazine. I must have been about four or five at the time...and I'm not saying how long ago that was. But while I no longer have that recipe, I do have a favorite Brownie recipe that I would like to share: 10 tbs. butter 4 oz. unsweetened chocolate 2 cups sugar 1/2 tsp. salt 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla 4 eggs, at room temperature 1 cup flour 1/2 to 1 cup coarsely chppoed walnuts (optional) Preheat over to 350 degrees. Grease a 9"x13" baking pan. In a 2-qt. saucepan, melt butter and chocolate over medium-low heat; stir until well blended. Remove from heat and stir in sugar, salt, and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in flour, then nuts. Pour into prepared baking pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched. Transfer pan to a wire rack. Let cool completely before cutting (we usually can't wait for this, although if you cut them while they are warm, they will fall apart.) Cut into 2" squares. Makes about 2 dozen. Permalink Thursday, May 16, 2002 ( 5:48 PM ) MB Seems it's that time of year when everyone is coming down with a spring cold. My recipe for that is Spicy Hamburger Vegetable Soup. It's quick and easy to make and the Spicy V-8 juice helps clear your head. 1 pound of ground beef 1/2 cup of chopped onion 1 cup of diced potatoes 1 cup of sliced carrots 1(1 lb.) can tomatoes 1 cup of sliced celery 1 large can or bottle of Spicy V-8 1/4 tsp. basil 1/4 tsp. thyme 1 bay leaf Cook ground beef and onions, drain fat. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to boil. Cover and simmer 1 hour. You can play around with the herbs, I also like to add some minced garlic. If you have any pita bread left over, you can make a nice snack to go with the soup. Split the pitas into halves. Cut each half into wedges and brush with flavored olive oil or garlic butter. Bake on cookie sheet at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until crisp (check after about 10 minutes and flip them over to toast them better.) Permalink Tuesday, May 14, 2002 ( 7:50 PM ) MB I'm going on a field trip to the Louisville Zoo tomorrow with my younger son. We will need to pack a sack lunch and I was thinking that sandwiches using Pita Bread would be fun. 1 package active dry yeast 1 1/4 c. warm water 3 c. flour 2 tsp. salt Dissolve yeast in water. Stir in flour and salt. Knead on a floured surface until smooth (about 5 minutes)...or just dump it all in a mixer with a dough hook (if there's an easy way, that's my first choice.) Divide into six balls and knead each until smooth and elastic. Flatten each to 1/4" thick and 4-5 inches in diameter. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and let rise for 45 minutes. Place upside down on a cookie sheet and bake at 500 F for 10-15 minutes, until light brown. Cool on wire rack. Cut the bread in half diagonally and stuff with your favorite sandwich fillings. Permalink Monday, May 13, 2002 ( 5:46 PM ) MB I'm fixing fried chicken for dinner tonight. Today's recipe is for Southern Cornbread since it goes so well with chicken. 1 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal 1/2 cup flour 3 Tbsp. sugar 2 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. baking soda 2 large eggs 2 tsp. vegetable oil 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tsp. low-fat buttermilk Place oven rack in center of oven. Set an 8 x 8-inch baking pan on the rack and preheat oven to 425 degrees. In medium mixing bowl, stirl together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside. In large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs and vegetable oil until combined. Add buttermilk and stir well. Add cornmeal mixture and stir just until moistened. The batter will be lumpy. Carefully remove the preheated pan from the oven and place it on heatproof surface. Lightly spray the pan with nonstick spray. Immediately pour the batter into the pan, smooth the top, and bake for 25 minutes or until the top is light brown and wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven, cool slightly, cut, and serve. This is very good with butter and jam. Permalink ( 5:37 PM ) MB I've added both the Alexa toolbar and the Google toolbar to my IE. while Netscape 4.x (or as I prefer, Netscape Classic) is still my browser of choice, I find I'm using IE more often. It works better when I'm posting here and I also like to check page rank and other things the toolbars offer when I'm adding sites to JoeAnt. Permalink Sunday, May 12, 2002 ( 10:35 PM ) MB I got a bread machine for Mother's Day. I had tried one many years ago after they first came out and was very disappointed, but a friend has been telling me how much she loves hers, so...it looks like I'll be seaching for bread machine recipes now. Until I find some I want to try, I'm trying out some mixes. So far, so good. I'm starting to feel better so I should have more recipes to share beginning tomorrow. Permalink |
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