Chewy Granola Protein Bars

It's rainy and chilly today; a perfect time to be in the kitchen baking something quick and good!

Chewy Granola Protein Bars
Preheat oven to 325*

2 Cups Oats

1/2 Cup Vanilla Whey Protein Powder

1/2 Cup all purpose Flour

1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 Cup dried fruit ( I used dried cranberries this time)
1/4 to 1/2 Cup Ground Flax Seeds

(You can add up to a total of 2 Cups of dried fruit, chopped fruit, coconut, chopped nuts, seeds, chocolate chips)

1/2 Cup (1 stick) melted Butter

1/2 Cup Honey

1/2 teaspoon Vanilla

Mix well.  Add a tiny bit of water if you still have some dry ingredients that have not mixed; just enough to make the mixture moist.  You don't want it runny.  Press into a greased 8" x 8" pan.  Bake at 325* for 20 minutes.  Cool.  Cut into bars.  Store in fridge or freezer.  Enjoy!

Burrrr...Baby It's Cold Outside!

We had freezing rain and snow this week.  Rare for our part of Texas.  It was beautiful!  This is the view from my studio/nest...

...and this is the view from our front door with a zoom lens.

It's cold and raining outside today, but not like any thing we had earlier in the week.  A perfect day to warm things up by being in the kitchen baking up some healthy Buttermilk Bran-Oat Muffins.  These are not real sweet.  You can add more sugar or honey if you like and what ever fruit you have on hand. A healthy fiber filled addition to your breakfast or snacks.

Buttermilk Bran-Oat Muffins

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

In the bowl of my mixer I add the following and let it sit in the bowl for about 10 minutes:

1-1/2 cup bran flakes

1/2 cup uncooked oats

1 egg, beaten

1 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup vegetable oil or 4 tablespoons melted butter

4 tablespoons molasses (optional)

1/2 cup chopped fruit of your choice (apples, plums, banana, raisins, etc.)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

After about 10 minutes, mix to incorporate and then add:

1/4 cup sugar (or 1/2 cup if you want sweeter)

1 cup flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon or ground ginger (optional)

Mix well.  Put cup cake paper cups in muffin pan or grease muffin pan.  Fill each compartment with about 2/3 full.  Bake 20-22 minutes.  Cool and enjoy.  Makes 12 muffins.

Stay WARM and ENJOY your weekend!

Until next time...

(p.s.  Dollies are on the work table)

It's Hard to Believe...

It's hard to believe that January is almost gone.  I had great plans for this year but I am starting off in extremely slow turtle mode and contributing my lack of enthusiasm to the rainy, cold weather.  We have missed the wintry mix a couple of times already.  I do love snow but we seldom get to see it here in our part of Texas. There is still plenty of time for the Snow Lady to make her appearance before Spring.

Speaking of Spring, for some reason this Cabbage & Apple Salad reminds me of Spring.  It is delicious and easy to put together.  It goes well with meats, fish and sandwiches or by it's self with a big old hunk of cornbread or garlic toast.  This time I used Napa Cabbage but I normally use fresh Green Cabbage.  Give Napa Cabbage a try if you are not familiar with it.  It steams well, has a great taste, makes great soups and some of the leaves look ruffled.

My measurements are not exact.  I just mix until things look and taste good.

About half a head of Napa Cabbage, chopped.

Half of a large unpeeled Apple, chopped into bite size pieces

Large pinch of Sugar

1/2 cup of Miracle Whip or Mayo (I use Miracle Whip)

Generous sprinkling of Celery Seeds

Mix well and chill until the rest of your meal is finished.

Enjoy!

Easy Homemade Fruit Fritters

Cooler Autumn days will be calling for some comfort goodies.  We may never buy donuts or cinnamon rolls again!  These Fruit Fritters are so easy to make from scratch and delicious.  I used peach pie filling for these tasty morsels, but you can use chopped fresh fruit of any kind...or leave out the fruit all together if you so desire.  They still make tasty sweet treats!

Fruit Fritters

1 Cup All Purpose Flour

1/4 Cup Sugar

3/4 Teaspoon Salt

1 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder

1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

1/3 Cup Milk

1 Egg

1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla

1 Cup chopped Fruit (or Fruit Pie Filling)

Glaze:

1 Cup Powdered Sugar

1 Tablespoon Milk or Water

Oil for cooking ( I used Coconut Oil)

Combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, cinnamon.  Stir in milk, egg and vanilla just until combined.  Fold in fruit.  Pour oil into skillet to coat the bottom and only about 1/4" deep. I used a 1/4 Cup measure to carefully add the dough to the hot oil and spread it out. Cook until brown, flip over with a spatula and cook the other side.  Keep an eye on these so they won't burn because they cook fast.  Transfer to a cooling rack.  Mix up your glaze and drizzle over the top of the fritters.  Add a wee bit more milk if your glaze is too thick.  Enjoy while warm, or cool. They also freeze well.

StoveTop Corn Bread

Poppa's Aunt Toady cooked her cornbread on top of the stove.  She could flip it in the skillet with her spatula.  Ummm....I tried that one time and made a big mess so I flip mine over with the skillet. This is my recipe and I love cooking corn bread on top of the stove; it's much faster and you don't have to heat up the oven.

StoveTop Cornbread

1 Cup Yellow Corn Meal

3 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1 Teaspoon Baking Powder

1 Egg

2 Tablespoons Oil (vegetable, coconut, olive oil or melted butter)

3/4 Cup Buttermilk

I use an 11" slanted side non-stick skillet (T-Fal) with a lid.  Spray the skillet with cooking spray.  I put the skillet on medium heat, #5 on my electric stove, while I quickly mix up the batter.  Pour the batter into the skillet and add the lid.

Cook with the lid on until the batter no longer is shinny on the top, about 8 minutes.

Slide the cornbread out of the skillet onto a cookie sheet.  Turn the skillet down over the top of the cornbread then flip the cookie sheet so the top of the cornbread is now on the bottom and you can now brown the top.

Brown the top of the cornbread to your desired color (WITHOUT THE LID this time). Remove from the skillet and enjoy!

This freezes well if you have leftovers or you can get a head start on your holiday cooking for turkey and dressing.

When is the last time you ate Rutabagas?

I had a hankering for something my Granny used to cook.  I thought it was mashed turnips but when I tried them, nope,  it wasn't the same.  So I called my Auntie and she said Grandma loved rutabagas and cornbread.  So, today I cooked rutabagas.  They turned out just like I remembered and I am delighted.  The Rutabaga has very strong antifungal properties so I will add this to my list of healing foods to help me make better choices for a healthier lifestyle.

Mashed Rutabaga
Peel off the waxy peeling, wash and cut into chunks like you would do if you were cooking potatoes to be mashed.  I also added a slice of chopped uncooked bacon.  Cover with water and add salt.  Cook until tender.  Drain and add one tablespoon of coconut oil or olive oil ( or butter if you prefer) and a pinch of sugar.  Mash with a potato masher; I left some lumps in mine.   Enjoy!  Now I need to make a pan of corn bread on top of the stove...



Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls

For some reason Feed Burner decided to send out a post today that I posted back in March when we had weird cold weather when it was supposed to be Spring.  Well here it is in July when our temperatures are normally 100-104 degrees and it struggled to make it to 70 today.  I am loving this Polar Vortes and the cool weather.  It is putting me in a cooking mood.  Today I made Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls.  I have had a stuffed cabbage roll recipe for years that I keep saying I am going to try and never have, but a few days ago I came across a recipe for unstuffed cabbage roll online and this is oh so easy and delicious! I'm sorry I don't remember when I saw the recipe....probably PINTEREST.

Olive Oil

Ground Beef
Chopped Onion
Minced Garlic
Chopped Cabbage
2 8oz. cans Tomato Sauce
1 12 oz. can Diced Tomatoes
1 cup water
1/2 cup long grain rice

We never buy prepared ground Hamburger meat.  We always get a boneless beef roast or boneless steak and have the butcher grind it for us.  That way we know there is no filler in it.  This time I used regular grind boneless Sirloin steaks.  I put a little olive oil in a 5 qt. pan and added the ground beef, chopped onion and minced garlic.  I don't usually measure stuff so this is all done to your taste.  Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes.  I chopped about 1/3 of a large head of cabbage and added it to the pot.  Cook another 10 minutes.  Add the remaining tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, water and rice, salt and pepper to taste, put the lid on the pot and cook 20 minutes until the rice is done.  Delicious and hearty plus good for you.  Enjoy with your favorite bread or crackers.

Freezer Breakfast Fixin's

When I get in a cooking mood/mode, I have been cooking things for breakfast and utilizing our freezer.  I cook a pound of bacon at a time, freeze the individual slices and then store them in a freezer bag.  I do the same thing with sausage.  Then all you have to do is heat what you need in a skillet, griddle or microwave.  I also do pancakes and waffles, freeze them and store in freezer bags.  This past weekend, I cooked Oats and froze them in my jumbo muffin pan.  Take the pan out of the freezer, put it in a larger pan of hot water and you are able to get the individual servings out of the muffin pan and store them in a freezer bag.  Breakfast is easy peasy at our house.

Six cups of water, boiling
Add Three cups of Old Fashioned Whole Grain Oats

Cook until water is absorbed.

Remove from heat
Add lid and let set for five minutes
Divide into Jumbo Muffin Pan
Let cool
Place in freezer until frozen
Remove servings and store in freezer bag

Heat individual servings in microwave when ready to use.



Sour Dough Starter

Today I started on a new adventure in bread making.  I started a sour dough starter.  This should be interesting...

 

It sounds easy.  1/2 Cup of filtered water and 1/2 Cup all purpose flour.  Feed it this same mixture every 24 hours for five days.  Then remove one cup for a recipe or to discard and feed it again.  We shall see!

Pickled Veggies

Fill quart jar with washed bite size pieces of

Cauliflower

Carrots

Celery
Sprigs of Dill or Dill Weed

Mix together and heat until salt is disolved
1 Cup Water

1 Cup White Vinegar

2 teaspoons Salt

Pour over veggies and seal.

Refrigerate after jar has cooled.

Let sit 24 hours to marinate if you can wait that long!

Mother's Tomato Soup...comfort food

This super simple Tomato Soup is great comfort food for those cold, rainy days!

Chop two celery sticks and a medium size onion into bite size pieces.  Sautee in a pan with a lid in a small amount of canola oil.  When veggies are almost tender, add 1 can of chicken stock and about the same amount of water.  Add egg noodles and a heaping tablespoon of minced garlic. You may need more water to cover noodles.  Cook until the noodles are tender and then add one can of diced tomatoes.  Season to taste and enjoy!  It helps if it is served in a homemade bowl, too.  :)

Microwave Those Cream Pies and Puddings

I have never really cared for cream pies and puddings that had to be cooked in a double boiler on top of the stove and stirred constantly.  Recently I tried a Chocolate Cream Pie filling in the microwave.  It turned out so good that I made a Pineapple Coconut Pudding with a Meringue topping.  Same as a pie, just no crust.  It's easy and yummy!

Seperate 3 eggs, yolks in one bowl, whites in another.  Room temperature eggs do better than directly from the fridge.

To a blender, add 3 cups of evaporated milk (2-12oz. cans), 1-1/4 cup sugar, 6 tablespoons flour, 3 egg yolks, 1/4 teaspoon salt.  Blend about 30 seconds until well blended.  Don't worry about the bubbles.

Pour mixture into a glass microwavable bowl.  I have a large 8 cup glass Pyrex measuring bowl that I love to use in the microwave.  Microwave the mixture for 9 minutes 30 seconds (microwaves vary) stirring the mixture with a whisk about half way through cooking and close to the end of cooking.  Mixture will be thick and hot!  Take mixture out of the microwave, add 4 tablespoons of butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla along with 1 cup of shredded coconut and 1 cup of drained crushed pineapple.  Mix well.  Pour into dish.  Top with meringue. Cook under broiler until meringue begins to brown.  If you want chocolate filling, just add 6 tablespoons of cocoa and delete the coconut and pineapple.

Meringue:

Beat 3 egg whites, 1/4 teaspoon Cream of Tartar and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla in a mixer until whites form stiff peaks.  Slowly add 6 Tablespoons of sugar.  Spread meringue on top of pie or pudding.

Super Easy Yeast Rolls

2 cups warm water...add

1/4 cup sugar and
1 pkg. of yeast (or 2-1/4 teaspoons dry yeast in jar)
stir to dissolve yeast
add 1 egg and
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
mix to break up egg

Dry ingredients in a bowl:
4 cups self rising flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Add wet ingredients and mix well until all flour is wet. I use a whisk.

Store in air tight container in the fridge for up to two weeks.

You can use this dough right away after mixed. No waiting for it to rise. Spoon into a greased muffin pan. Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown at preheated 350 degrees. Yummy!

It must be September - First Day of Autumn!

Thank you Lord!

September ushers in a wonderful supply of pears waiting to be made into delicious pear preserves. Making pear preserves is an annual event in our household. It is time consuming but worth the effort.  You can't buy pear preserves at the grocery in our part of the country.  Are they available in your area?

The supplies are gathered.  Wide mouth pint canning jars.

Aren't these just the cutest half pint squatty canning jars?  I can see them filled with all kinds of goodies other than food.  Beads and buttons come to mind.

To make the tedious job of peeling and slicing interesting, I always try to peel each pear in one big long peeling.  It's fun to see if I can do it!  Once peeled, the pears are sliced in thin slices.

Sugar is then added and mixed well.  I usually do 8 cups of sliced pears and 2 cups of sugar.

Start cooking, bring to a nice slow boil and cook for a couple of hours or until pears just begin to turn pink and translucent.  You have to stir frequently during the cooking process or these sweet morsels will burn.  This is not a time to multi-task!  They need a constant watchful eye. Ask me how I know...

Have your supplies on hand and ready for the canning process.  Steralize your jars BEFORE the pears are ready to can.  You will need a ladel, a funnel, a magnetic thingy to get the jar lids/rims out of the hot boiling water, your jars and lids/rings.  THIS STUFF IS HOT SO BE CAREFUL!  Ladel the pears and syrup into the jar, make sure the rim of the jar is clean.  Put on the hot jar lid and then the ring.  Just barely tighten the ring.

When you are finished with all of the pears, place a cover over the jars and let them cool naturally.  Such good eating with hot buttered biscuits and sausage on cool Autumn/Winter mornings.  They are also delicious in the Spring/Summer if you have any left by then.  Enjoy!

Did your jars seal after they cooled?
You can feel the top of the lid.  If it makes a noise when you gently press on the lid, it did not seal well.  If your jar did not seal, these preserves need to be refrigerated and eaten before opening the sealed jars.  I have heard they will last in the fridge for several weeks but ours don't last that long so I can't say for sure.

Not your average Meat Loaf...

We love this easy cook on top of the stove one dish meal.  I don't measure but just add ingredients so I can't really tell you how much of each item.  Just add to your taste. 

Meat Loaf

About 1-1/2 pound ground beef
chopped onion

chopped bell pepper

1/2 cup oats

1 egg

ketchup (maybe 1/2 cup)

salt & pepper to taste
mix well and

form into about 3 large patties

brown on top of the stove on both sides
in a small amount of vegetable oil.

When brown on both sides, add
cut up bite size unpeeled red or yucon gold potatoes
onion slices
carrots
1 can tomato soup mixed with 1 can water
more salt and pepper

Put the lid on and cook on top of the stove
for about an hour and a half until meat
is well done and vegetables are tender.

Serve with a green salad and crusty bread.

Good eating!

Steamed Sweet Potatoes and Cobbler

Sweet potatoes are really nutricious and we love them fixed in the steamer.  Just wash them and cut them in hunks, put in the steamer and cook for 30 minutes.  Yummy hot drizzled with honey!

At one time I had a neighbor that said her husband would kill for a sweet potato cobbler.  We had never eaten a sweet potato cobbler until today.  I needed to do something with our left over steamed sweet potatoes so I used my favorite easy Fruit Cobbler recipe and I'm hear to tell you that this cobbler is delicious and fit for company!!!

Sweet Potato Cobbler

Remove skin from cooked sweet potatoes and cut into bite size pieces.  Add just enough water to cover and sprinkle in about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of sugar.  Let sit while mixing other ingredients.

Melt 1/2 stick of butter in a dish with a lid.  I use Corelle 3 qt. casserole with lid.

In another bowl mix:
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
pinch of salt
slight sprinkle of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup milk.....mix well 
Pour this batter into the dish with the melted butter.  DO NOT MIX; just pour in the batter.

Next, pour the sweet potato mixture in on top of the batter.  DO NOT MIX; just pour in the sweet potatoes.

Add the lid and bake in a 350 degree oven for one hour.  Enjoy!

Looks like a little mouse has already been into the cobbler!



You can substitute any kind of fruit for the sweet potatoes and depending on the fruit, you may want to leave out the cinnamon.  This is a delicious and easy cobbler.  It makes it's own topping! Prop your feet up and pretend you are company and enjoy!

What to do with all of that left over ham?...

We have a lot of ham left over from Easter. Here are just a few ideas.

Freeze it for later
Ham & Cabbage
Grilled Ham & Cheese Sandwiches
Ham & Eggs
Ham & Cheese Puff Pastry
Ham & Scallop Potatoes
Chef Salad with Ham
Ham & Large Butter Beans

How about a nice Ham Salad?


Chopped ham, chopped celery, chopped eggs, pimento, salad dressing or mayo and add any or all of the following; dill or sweet relish, dijon mustard, onions, tomatoes, bell pepper, olives, shredded cheese. I had left over hot dog buns so they got used. Yum it was good for lunch!