Get Crafty and WIN Stitching for the Kitchen!

Bacon, Shrimp, Spinach Mini Pizzas

Bacon, Shrimp, Spinach Mini Pizzas

Ingredients                                                           

Prepared Pizza Crust (I made ours home made)

  divided into 8 pieces---

4 pieces bacon (cut into little pieces)

2 hand fulls Shrimp (cut up into small pieces)

1 large onion

2 garlic cloves sliced thinly

3c aprox fresh spinach

sour cream

cheese

ranch dressing

Preheat oven to 400

Clean spinach and take off the stems

Fry bacon until brown and crisp--set aside.

Using the bacon grease saute shrimp, onion and garlic--set aside

Saute spinach so that it is only wilted looking

Arrange all ingredients on mini pizzas

Cook pizzas for 10-15 min

   

Fiesta Bubble Bread---Gooseberry Patch video

Ingredients 
1/2c butter melted
1 1/2c shredded Mexican blend cheese
1/4c shredded mozzarella  cheese
10oz jar slices jalapeno peppers drained
1tsp dried parsley
2 12oz tubes refrigerator biscuits, cut into quarters

July's Ingredient is Garlic (posting 1 of July's ingredient)

One of my favorite recipes with garlic is Honey Garlic Chicken--so along with other experiments in the kitchen this is one of my goals is to find the best Honey Garlic Chicken recipe.


So far this month: 
1) I boiled garlic gloves with my potatoes when making potato salad---it gave a very delicate garlic taste that went well with the salad 
2) Tried a couple different Honey Garlic Chicken recipes
3) Perfected Chicken Cashew Stir Fry
4) Added it to my hash browns (potatoes, peppers, onions, garlic, salt, black pepper) and that was very nice--yummy yummy
5) Made pizza sauce 
6) Created a spinach/garlic/shrimp mini pizzas, that I loved---Dan didn't like the spinach
7) Found out when adding garlic to a pan to add it with your last ingredient so it doesn't burn and so you can get optimal flavor


Images: http://webmalayalee.com/portals/2010/12/19/garlic-can-reduce-risk-of-arthritis/

Ingredient of the month

I've decide to choose every month one ingredient to spot light. It will be an ingredient that I will study and play around with in my kitchen and than periodically report on what I've found as well as what recipes I've tried and invented.

Split Pea Soup

2c split peas (dry)
1 1/2c ham
2 medium/large carrots
2 stalks celery
1c onion
9c water (as the soup cooks, check periodically to make sure there is enough liquid, you don't want to let it dry out, because it will burn)
2tsp salt (probably will need to add more just for taste)
2tsp garlic powder
1 bay leaf
black pepper to taste

Add ingredients to crock pot and cook for 8 hours slow.

Soup is done when the split peas are nice and smooth.

To serve you can add some Franks Hot Sauce

Nutritional information about split peas
http://www.livestrong.com/article/344927-are-split-peas-healthy/

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2521/2

Soft Wheat Rolls for Hamburgers or Sandwiches

The other day my husband requested home made hamburger rolls-----

So I looked through all my recipe books and found nothing (these are just some of my favorites)

Finally I looked on the internet and found a recipe that I adjusted to our diet

This recipe is a keeper!!!

my husband loved the rolls

The original recipe called for white and wheat flour----We don't use processed white flour any more in our cooking, but just plain wheat can be a bit too bitter for my taste so I used a combination of Wheat Flour (home ground) and Oat Flour (home ground)

This is our grinder---it's a Vita-Mix that is used quite a bit in our house for multi uses

Right side is the wheat and left side is oatmeal

Oatmeal before and after grinding it

Wheat before and after grinding it

Closer look at the Vita-Mix---makes flour, smoothies, soups...

Food storage Oats

Food storage Wheat

Other ingredients; yeast, egg, water, organic sugar, Himalayan salt, shortening

The dough came out to nice

Finished rolls--Hamburger rolls

This one didn't come out too well--I'm not so sure what happened to it???

Nice and fluffy

They look like artisan rolls

I could tell it was a hit when there was a half of a roll eaten on the cooling rack, before they even could totally cool

The Recipe

The original recipe that I found was at

http://www.food.com/recipe/whole-wheat-hamburger-and-hot-dog-buns-bread-machine-169916

I used this recipe as a spring board to experiment with the ingredients I wanted to use----I really like the reviews for this recipe---but I changed the ingredients to suite our taste and they came out so nice and tasty--they're a favorite for our family now

Where I live is very high in altitude so besides changing a couple of ingredients I had to place the ingredients into the bread machine differently too

                                                                     

1 cup warm water (I used warm water because the yeast doesn't grow as fast in the high climates)

3 teaspoons yeast

1/4 cup sugar (I used organic sugar)

1 egg                                                                                     

Allowed these ingredients to sit together for about 15 min so the yeast could start to work (due to high altitude) 

2 1/4c Wheat flour                                                                                                                    
3/4c Oat Flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup shortening

1/4 cup sugar

Their Directions:

1 Place all ingredients in bread pan, select Dough setting, and press Start. 

2 When dough has risen enough, the machine will beep. Remove bread pan, and turn out dough onto a floured counter-top  Gently roll and shape the dough into a 12-inch rope.

3 With a sharp knife, divide dough into 8 pieces for hamburger buns or 12 pieces for hot dog buns.

4 Grease a baking sheet. Roll pieces of dough into balls and flatten for hamburger buns or shape into 6-inch rolls for hot dog buns. Place on prepared baking sheet. Cover and let rise in warm oven 10 to 15 minutes until almost doubled.

5 Preheat oven to 400°F Bake 10 to 12 minutes until golden brown (be careful mine cook pretty fast). Remove from oven and cool on racks. When ready to use, split buns horizontally. These will keep in plastic bag in the freezer for 3 to 4 weeks.

My comment on their directions; step 4 you don't need to grease non stick pans

Left Over Potatoes

One evening for dinner we made boiled potatoes and carrots--the next day it became potato salad--I just added fresh onion, celery, Miracle whip, and salt and black pepper to taste 

Excellent Fall/Winter Meal

This is one of my most favorite meal so far this winter--it reminded me of my Gram and Mom.

Great comfort food!!

Potatoes, carrots, and all natural sausage.

 These are the potatoes--they're really pretty purple and pink--kind of looks like a tie-dye---when you cut them they are white inside---these potatoes are Purple Vikings

We bought these at the end of the summer from a local farmer--they are so tasty!!! 

Cut up the potatoes and carrots into bite size. Place in a pot with sausage--cover with water and boil until you smell the sausage---oh my this was so good smelling!!

  I'm not sure if this is the steam fogging up my lens or me drooling

Once you smell the sausage than take it out of the water and place it on a grill or frying pan--I used my Grilling Machine

Allow the potatoes and carrots to cook (boil) until tender

 The finished product---boiled veggies with butter, salt and black pepper, grilled sausage, and lettuce salad

 Close up on the veggies  

Does it just make your mouth water? Oh my heck!!!

Thanksgiving and Memories

This post was inspired by a contest that's going on, on another blog. The contest is to see who has the best Thanksgiving memories of cooking with their Grandmother.

I call my Grandmother, Gram. Neither Gram or my Mother really taught me how to cook. But I remember my Gram had already cooked something, or was in the middle of cooking whenever I came to her home. Oh what funny things memories can do to a person...crying right now envisioning Gram in the kitchen.

I am 41 years old living with my husband and our dog in a country foreign to my birth. My Mom, Gram and family are back in Western New York. Gram is in a nursing home and has been there for some time now. She is slipping away from us mentally and physically.

My Mom called the other night and told me that Gram had been taken to the hospital and when weighed she was only weighed 97lbs--my Mom cried when she saw the number on the scale.

Mom has been a good daughter to Gram, she has taken her to doctor appointments, had her move in with her when Gram was scared to live by herself, loved her, cared for her as best as she could until she no longer could. Finally, reluctantly, she placed Gram in an assisted living place, for her safety and well being. After Gram had fallen too many times in assisted living, they would no longer allow her to stay - Gram had to move to a nursing home.

So as I write this, I am remembering both happy and sad times. This year is one of the very few that I will not have been home for the holidays.

Thanksgiving Memories:

When I was a little girl I remember going to Grams and being put to work with my cousin. Gram would have us rip up bread for the stuffing. That was done the day before so the bread could dry out. The day of the feast Gram would get up early. I remember the aroma of sauteed onions, celery, and sausage. The sausage had a strong sage smell. The bread my cousin and I had ripped up the day before was sitting in a metal bowl on the counter. Gram took the sauteed veggies and sausage (with all the drippings) and put it in the metal bowl with the bread and carefully mixed it by hand---we weren't allowed to help with this because it was much too hot for little fingers---than she would add eggs to the mixture until it was just the right texture---no measurements, by site, smell and feel - every time was a scientific experiment. When the stuffing was just right she put it all in a baking pan/s---Gram always made tons of stuffing in preparation for all the guests that would come over to eat with us.

Our family was small - there was Gram, Mom, Cousin Lisa, and Aunt Liz - but at the holidays the house would  fill with friends and tons of chairs and plates and food. Gram would make sure everyone she knew had someplace for the holidays. Anyone who didn't, was invited and expected to be at her home to enjoy Thanksgiving. When I got older I knew it was acceptable to invite people, one year I invited a Russian and an East Indian friend, every year it was different.

On top of having many guests at dinner, Gram would make every ones favorite pie what ever it was--she usually made them herself. If she found out that you didn't like pie, she would find out what you liked instead and make it. I remember seeing 8 or more pies at some of those holidays. Some of the pies had been made weeks before and frozen, taken out and baked that day or the day before. There was pumpkin, apple, mince meat, rhubarb, custard....etc.

Boy do I miss Gram, but I pray that she has peace as her body and mind diminish.