I will be updating my recipes and adding more very soon to add "greener" and healthier versions of my meals. I have recently revised my recipes and I am VERY excited to share some new ideas with you!
This is a collection of favorite recipes that I have learned over the years. They are very simple and if you love to cook you should find great pleasure in making some of the most common foods from scratch. There is a great sense of pride in learning to make the greatest foods for yourself right at home. You will soon realize that "from scratch" foods are even better than store bought foods. And you have the peace of mind of knowing exactly what is in your food as well. Also, I spent 5 years of my life as a vegetarian, and when I was a child my grandparents had a small farm and grew fresh vegetables during the summer. They were wonderful, organic, and grown with love. So I have a full appreciation for the flavors of vegetables. I use them often and appreciate the color, texture, and flavor they lend a dish. Spinach and Artichoke Dip: 1 bag chopped spinach (10 oz) thawed and drained very well 1 Can artichoke hearts pulled apart into smaller pieces(in brine not oil) 1 pkg cream cheese cut into small cubes and warmed to room temp 1 block mozzarella shredded 1 Cup Parmesan cheese 1 can cream of mushroom soup splash of milk Combine all ingredients, mix well with a spoon. Place in a 9x13 baking dish and warm in a 350* oven for 20 minutes. Place under broiler for 2-4 minutes to brown the top a little bit. Serve with tortilla chips, salsa, and sour cream! **This freezes very well and makes a large amount. Great for parties, to put on crusty breads, top eggs, so many things!
Beef Stew: 1 Pound lean Beef cut into chunks (you can easily use less if you like) 3 medium carrots 1 medium onion 3 stalks of celery 3 potatoes
flour, enough to coat meat salt and pepper to season flour any other veggies you might like to add to your soup I like corn, okra, stewed tomatoes, use your imagination. Coat beef with flour salt and pepper mixture and saute until medium rare in your stew pan in a small amount of oil. Chop and add all vegetables (peeling potatoes if desired, I do), and any seasonings and spices you like (garlic and onion powders are great as well as more salt and pepper and some celery seasoning) Adobo and sazon are great if you would like to give it a little latino kick. Add just enough water to cover veggies. Simmer low for at least an hour, adding more water to reach desired consistency. Serve with warm crusty bread and butter. YUM! Chicken Noodle Soup: 1 Whole small chicken Or 4 pounds of chicken parts (thighs and legs) Celery 4 stalks Carrots 3 1 medium onion additional veggies as desired (tomatoes, okra, corn, gandules, ect) onion, garlic, celery powders, basil, parsley, other seasonings you like. Salt and pepper Remove the skin from the chicken, cut off tail fat and any extra fat you see. (as much as you can)
Boil the whole chicken in a very large stew pot until chicken is well cooked and falling off the bone. Mean while, chop your veggies into a large bowl and compost the scraps. Once the meat is falling off the bone, remove from heat and scoop out all the chicken pieces. Allow to cool, so you don't burn your hands. Clean the chicken by removing all the good meat from the bones place this meat back into the pot. Discard the fat and bones. Now add all chopped veggies and spices and turn the heat back on. Simmer until veggies are tender. If you wish to add rice or noodles, cook them separately and add them to the individual bowls at the time of serving. Store additional noodles and soup separately. Granola: 3 Cups oats (old fashioned, not quick) 1 cup dried cranberries 1 cup raisins 1 cup quartered pecans 3 Tbsp flax 2 Tbsp whole wheat flour 2 Tbsp powdered milk 1 Tsp Vanilla 1 tsp cinnamon 3 tbsp coconut oil 1/4 cup honey 1/4 cup NATURAL maple syrup mix together all ingredients in a large bowl place on a baking sheet in a thin layer bake for at 250 for 30 minutes. Stirring every 10 minutes. *If you want the cranberries and raisins to remain soft, leave them out while baking and add them after the granola cools. I prefer it this way. Yorkshire Pudding: *Yorkshire Pudding is a traditional British meal accompaniment. It is usually served as an appetizer with gravy. The outside of the "pudding" is like a soft crispy bread and the inside creamy and custard like. The flavor is savory, but can also be used at the end of the meal with a sweet sauce as dessert. 2 Cups Flour 2 Cups Milk 4 Eggs 1 Tsp Salt Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Place pan in oven to heat. (I use a muffin tin) Whip together ingredients vigorously for about 2 minutes. Remove heated pan from oven and quickly coat with butter or meat drippings. Place about 1/4 cup of batter into muffin tins and bake for 20 minutes. The puddings should rise and then once removed from the oven should fall in the middle to make irregularly shaped cups. Remove puddings from tin, top with gravy and serve hot. Detox Tea: 2 Handful's of fresh washed spinach 8 Cups Spring water *This is a fasting tea, used to rest the stomach. Its best to drink it once a month on a day that you choose to fast from all other foods. Simmer spinach until tender and completely wilted. Drink "tea" liquid throughout the day. You may eat the greens with a small sprinkling of sea salt and lemon juice if desired. Hot Cocoa Mix: 3/4 Cup coffee creamer 3/4 Cup cocoa powder 1 & 1/2 Cup sugar 1 & 1/2 Cup powdered milk Mix together (blend if blender for a very fine powder if you desire) Use 2 tablespoons per 8 ounces of hot milk or water. Store in a mason jar.  Better than Hershey's Chocolate Syrup: 1 Cup Sugar 1 Cup Water 1/2 Cup Baking cocoa Place all ingredients in a saucepan. Simmer on medium heat until the liquid begins to form a syrup. Stirring regularly. Remove from heat, cool and store in a jar or re-used syrup bottle in the refrigerator. Chicken Stock: 2 pounds chicken backs 2 quarts spring water 3 carrots chopped 1 onion 3 celery stalks 2 Tbsp parsley Sea salt to taste (optional) Place all items in a large stock pot and boil until meat is falling off the bone and vegetables are very soft. Add more water as it evaporates. Strain broth into a bowl and discard remaining meat and vegetables. Cool in fridge and skim fat off the top of the broth once it congeals on the top. Store in fridge up to one week or freeze in small amounts and use as needed to season rice, beans, soups, and other dishes. Lemon Curd: Zest and juice of 3 lemons *(the trick is to zest the lemons while cold and juice them at room temperature. Also, roll the lemon hard on the table before cutting to release the juices) 1.5 Cups of sugar 3 eggs Beat eggs and place into pan with other ingredients cook on medium low heat stirring often until curd is thick and coats the back of a spoon. Store in the fridge up to 4 weeks or freezer up to a year. This is wonderful as a pie filling, yogurt or ice cream topping, and on breads and scones! You may also substitute limes (my personal favorite) for the lemons. White Bread: 1 Cup Warm water (110 degrees Fahrenheit) 1 Package Yeast (.25 oz) 1/2 tsp Salt 2 Tbsp Sugar 1 Tbsp Oil 3 Cups Flour Additional flour to knead In a large bowl, combine, water, yeast and sugar, let sit 2 minutes, add oil and salt. Add flour and mix well. Cover bowl with a towel and let rise in a warm spot for 30 minutes. Knead dough on table adding additional flour as needed until dough is sticky but not gooey(about 15 minutes, your arms will be TIRED). (it will stick to your hands and table but not leave gooey dough behind). Oil a bowl, and place dough inside bowl and be sure to turn dough so its coated with oil. Allow to rise again, covered. Punch down dough and shape into desired style (braided, rolls, buns, baguettes, or loaves). Place on oiled pan. Heat oven to 350. Once the bread has risen again, bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. This makes 12 large rolls, or 2 medium loaves, or 2 baguettes (long skinny french loaves). Whole Wheat Bread: For whole wheat bread, follow the recipe above, only substitute all (or half) of the white flour for whole wheat. Be sure to allow the bread to rise fully and this will be as light and soft as white bread. French Bread:
Make as white bread above, leave out sugar and oil. Use and "egg wash" on top to make a shiny cripsy crust.
Salsa: 4 Large ripe tomatoes, blanched, skins removed, finely chopped 2-4 jalapenos chopped (for spicier salsa leave more seeds, for milder remove seeds) 1 small onion finely chopped 3 cloves garlic finely chopped 1 tsp sea salt juice of 1-2 fresh limes handful chopped cilantro Chop all ingredients finely. Place in a non reactive bowl (plastic or glass) allow to sit 1-3 hours. Serve with guacamole and tortilla chips. Pasta sauce from scratch: 6 large ripe tomatoes 1 small onion 1 medium green pepper 4 cloves garlic 1/2 cup water handful Italian seasonings, 1 small can of tomato paste 1/2 pound hamburger meat (optional) handful Parmesan cheese salt, pepper,sugar to taste olive oil Blanch tomatoes and remove skins and tops. Place peeled tomatoes to a large sauce pan add 1/2 cup water. allow to simmer and begin to break down tomatoes with the back of a large wooden spoon. meanwhile, chop, onions garlic and green pepper. Cook onion and green pepper in olive oil first and once they are nearly done, add garlic. Once garlic is cooked, add to tomatoes. Season with Italian seasonings, salt, pepper, and a very small amount of sugar (1/4 tsp) At this time cook hamburger meat, seasoning with garlic and onion powder. add cooked hamburger to sauce, breaking up any large chunks of meat or tomatoes. Allow sauce to simmer and thicken for about an hour keeping a very close eye on it and stirring regularly. If necessary, add a few tablespoons at a time of tomato paste to thicken sauce. During the last 15 minutes of cooking add a handful of Parmesan cheese to sauce. You can also make this in very large batches and can the extra for another time. This sauce also freezes very well. Basic Cake/Cupcakes from scratch 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour 1 1/3 cups sugar 3 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup butter or cream cheese 1 cup milk 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 large eggs Cream sugar and butter (or cream cheese), add eggs in a separate bowl, sift together dry ingredients. Combine all ingredients, including milk and vanilla. Bake in muffin cups or cake pan at a preheated 350 degree oven for 20- 35 minutes. Chicken Quesadillas 4 large burrito style tortillas 1 chicken breast chopped small and grilled Cheese or your choice (cheddar or the mexican "queso" cheese) Spices to taste I like a little garlic and onion powders and cayenne powder. you can also season the chicken with Worcestershire sauce while grilling for a really nice flavor. Grill the chicken full and season as desired. Place a tortilla on a frying pan or cast iron pan over medium/high heat sprinkle cheese on tortilla and place chicken on one half of the tortilla. Fold in half and flip over once one side of tortilla is cooked. remove from pan and continue with other 3 tortilla and remaining chicken and cheese. Cut into wedges and serve with salsa and sour cream. :) Home made BBQ Sauce:
One can of tomato paste (small can)
3/4 cup of katsup
2 cups of water
2 tsp Granulated garlic
1 tsp mustard powder
sprinkling of cayenne pepper (to taste, I like mine a little spicy)
1/2 cup of honey
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1.2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup molasses
2 tsp salt
1 tsp onion powder
Add all ingredients to a sauce pan wisk together and heat until warm. Store in refrigerator.
Ranch Dressing:
The best thing is, if you want you can change everything to low fat or fat free if you want.
1 cup olive oil mayonnaise (or low fat, fat free, or homemade mayo)½ c sour cream (low fat or fat free if you like)½ cup buttermilk1 tbsp lemon juice1 tsp onion powder½ tsp granulated garlic2 tsp parsleydash dill weed½ tsp salt½ tsp lawrys seasoningdash of pepper
Wisk all ingredients together. place in a glass or non reactive container and allow flavors to meld for about 30 minutes or so.
Home made Mayo
One Large egg yolk1.5 tsp lemon juice (bring to room temp)
1.5 tsp vinegar (I use rice wine vinegar because thats what I had on hand and I liked the outcome)
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp white pepper
3/4 cup of vegetable oil
Warm bowl with almost hot water. (you can stick your hand in it comfortably) and put entire egg (unbroken) into the water to warm the egg.
Once both are warm, dry bowl and place egg yolk into the warm bowl.
Turn on electric mixer.
Quickly add lemon juice, vinegar, salt and pepper.
Mix for about 1-2 minutes until egg is frothy.
Add oil SLOWLY. A little bit at a time. Once mixture looks thick and whitish add more oil until you have used up all the oil.
Store in refrigerator for up to a week. This makes about one cup of mayo. (just a little less than a cup really) But the recipe is easily doubled.
Veggie Lasagna
One 8 oz pack fresh mushrooms diced 1/2 bag fresh spinach chopped 1 medium egg plant diced 1 medium zucchini diced 1 sm tub ricotta, 2 eggs, garlic powder, italian seasonings 1 block mozz cheese shredded Lasagna noodles (I used ronzoni no boil, because a friend bought them for me and thats what I had, they were awesome, btw.... but I would have liked whole wheat) First I sliced and salted the eggplant. then I diced all the veggies and chopped the spinach. Then I sauteed it all together and drained the excess water off. I had made homemade sauce yesterday so I used that. I put it on the bottom of the pan, then put the noodles on top of it, then layered veggies, mozz cheese and ricotta (oh you mix the 2 eggs and seasonings into the ricotta first) then more noodles, sauce, veggies, cheese... you get the point. Then I baked it at 350 for about 40 minutes or so. Whole Wheat Pancakes
Coming Soon:
Pizza Dough Marshmallows Candied Ginger Puppy Puffs Puppy Treats Corn and Potato Bisque Biscotti | ESSENTIAL PANTRY: Here is a partial list of several pantry items that I like to have on hand at all times. Depending on the season, and new recipes I'd like to try, things change a little bit. But for the most part, this is a list of things I like to have on hand ready for me to make something at any time. Whole wheat and white all purpose flours Cocoa Powder Baking Soda Baking Powder Sea Salt Lemons Canned Tomatoes or Fresh Yeast Olive Oil Vegetable Oil Onions Potatoes Garlic Granulated Garlic and Onion Powder Assorted Spices and Seasonings Sugar Honey Different Shapes of dried Pasta Oats Cornmeal Dried Breads Coarse ground black pepper Or Peppercorns Crushed Red Pepper Flakes Ground red pepper Chocolate chips Flaked coconut Raisins Dried fruits Lemon curd is tangy and sweet. With a texture almost like jelly. My favorite way to eat lemon curd is on top of vanilla yogurt. You can also use it to top ice cream, toast, biscuits, and scones. Use your imagination. Bread Hints: Bread should feel soft and pliable under your knead. Warm and yielding, almost alive! It might take some time getting used to baking bread. But after only a few tries you will be a bread baking expert. Don't be afraid to experiment with your bread. I love to add all sorts of things to mine. Walnuts, pecans, cinnamon and sugar, raisins, cranberries, oats, my favorite is jalapeno and cheese. Just add the ingredients during the second knead, at the time when you set the bread in the pan to rise for the last time before baking. An easy way to remove the skin from tomatoes is to first blanch them. To do this, set whole tomatoes into a pan of boiling water for 30 seconds. Carefully remove, allow to cool and skins should easily peel off. |
