English Muffins Revisited

For quite some time the freezer had been running low on English Muffins. Call it laziness, busyness, or lack of desire, but I what not been in the mood to mess up my kitchen and make another batch of english muffins. After cleaning up my kitchen today I decided I was in the mood to create another batch of muffins revisiting the recipie I had used previously (found here).
Last time they did not have the nooks and crannies that English Muffins usually have, so I thought I'd try it again to see if it would have a different result. It didn't, but this time they turned out much prettier and much tastier!

Next time I'll have to try a different recipe.

Cast Iron Care

I am a strong believer in cast iron. Food  barely ever sticks, it cooks better and more evenly, and (in my opinion) tastes better. I have at least 6 cast iron pots and skillets, (not including the two fajitas ones). I use my 12 inch skillet for nearly every meal. What I like best is their versatility and ease of care. Did I mention they can go from stove to oven? How many pans do you own that can do that? When I take my cast iron to our events all I have to do is give it a quick scrub with hot water and a stiff brush and it's clean, and the same at home, so easy!


I recently acquired a nice old cast iron set from my grandmother, so I'm going to walk you through the steps of cleaning and seasoning old cast iron

The set I acquired can be two separate skillets, or a skillet with a lid; very versatile.


Here they are before

I'd bet that you've been to an antique store and seen the selection of cast iron, and a lot of it looks like the before pictures. You probably thought to yourself that it was ruined and worthless and it would be better to buy new cast iron. Let me tell you that the old cast iron is much heavier and usually higher quality than the cast iron you can buy in stores today. And, the ugly old ruined cast iron can look brand new again and cook like a dream.

When you pick up older cast iron look for the amount of rust on it. Minimal rust can be easily fixed, but lots of rust takes lots of work (think sand blasting). Mine had a tiny bit of rust and looked unsightly, but was overall in great condition.

1. Put the skillet, pot, etc. in your sink under running water, the hottest you can stand. Using a stiff bristled brush, or plain steel wool, scrub the entire surface of the pan; inside, outside, handle, and the crevices. DO NOT USE SOAP. Salt may also be used as a scrubbing agent if needed. 

Note: NEVER EVER leave cast iron in the sink to soak, it can ruin it!

2. Dry thoroughly with a towel.

3. Place on stove top and turn on burner, add a small about of food safe oil or shortening, heat until melted. 

4. Turn off heat, and carefully with a paper towel rub the oil/melted shortening over the entire surface of the pan.

5. Get to cooking!!!! I always use canola cooking spray before I cook something, and after cleaning and drying to maintain the seasoning. At first stay away from acid foods such as tomatoes, and beans, and stick to cooking fatty foods like hamburger, bacon, sausage, etc. And remember, the more you cook in your cast iron, the better seasoned it will be, and the smoother the surface will be.

NOTE: The pans I got did not need to be seasoned more than this, however, some pans will need to be stripped of their current seasoning and re-seasoned in the oven. For more information check out Cast Iron Cooking for Dummies (one of my favorite resources)


Edit: As my loving husband pointed out, I switched the pans in the after photo. Oh well, you get the point.

Baked Apple Crisp

I've had apples sitting in my fridge since November (yuck, I know) They came straight from the orchard when I wanted to make an apple pie and I had some left over. (When properly stored, apples can last for a while) I'd been eyeing baked apple recipes and toying with ideas for them. Recently I saw a picture of single serve apple pies baked right inside the apples. This peaked my attention but I was not in the mood for making pie dough (it's too messy and finicky). Since I prefer apple crisp I set out to see if I could make an apple crisp baked inside the apples. And guess what, it worked!!
Baked Apple Crisp
Ingredients
2 apples
lemon juice
2 T butter (softened)
2 T brown sugar
2 T flour
2 T old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
Directions
1. Cut the tops off the apples and hollow them out.

 2. Save the apple pieces that you hollowed out and put them in a bowl with lemon juice and water to keep them from browning.

3. Mix together rest of the ingredients making sure to chop up the butter and spread over the drained apples (This makes enough topping for more than two apples)

4. Bake at 350 degrees F until apples are soft and filling is bubbling. About 10-15 min.

 5. Enjoy it plain or with a scoop of ice cream!

Kung Pao Mac and Cheese

I'd like to introduce you to a little dish I like to call Kung Pao Macaroni and Cheese. It's like mac and cheese with a spicy kick. Truly delicious in my opinion. I found the recipe on pinterest, but it originally came from Southern Living (here). They call it King Ranch Chicken Mac and Cheese, but this name is deceiving as there is absolutely no ranch in the dish at all.

(source) 

I forgot to take my own picture and because it was so good it's all gone

This recipe is modified from the original to please my tastes and cooking techniques

Ingredients
 16-oz. pasta (elbow, fusilli, penne, or other small pasta)
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 (10-oz.) can diced tomatoes and green chiles
1 (8-oz.) package Velveeta, cubed (I used more than this because it was cheesy enough for me)
3 cups  cooked chicken, shredded
1 (10 3/4-oz.) can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare pasta according to package directions.


Meanwhile, heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and bell pepper, and sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in tomatoes and green chiles and prepared cheese product; cook, stirring constantly, 2 minutes or until cheese melts. Stir in chicken, next 4 ingredients, and hot cooked pasta until blended. Spoon mixture into a lightly greased 11- x 7-inch baking dish; sprinkle


Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Enjoy!!

English Muffins

A week or two ago my sister came to visit and we decided to make english muffins based on a recipe found on none other than pinterest. The only problem was they didn't turn our right and we ended up finishing them in the oven because they weren't cooking through. After a little more digging on my part, I found a recipe with good reviews and just as simple, And I Made English Muffins!!! (recipe here, but I made my own tweaks to it)

 

English Muffins

Ingredients

1 cup milk
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1/4 cup melted shortening
6 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
Corn Meal

Directions

Warm the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Let cool until lukewarm. In a small bowl stir together sugar, yeast and warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the milk, yeast mixture, shortening, salt and flour cup by cup until dough is smooth. Knead. Place in greased bowl, cover, and let rise.

Roll out dough to about 1/2 inch thick. Cut rounds with biscuit cutterSprinkle waxed paper with cornmeal and set the rounds on this to rise. Dust tops of muffins with cornmeal also. Cover and let rise 1/2 hour.

Heat greased griddle. Cook muffins on griddle about 10 minutes on each side on medium heat. Allow to cool and place in plastic bags for storage. To use, split and toast. Can be frozen. 

The best part about making my own English muffins is I know exactly what I put in them. I don't know when it started, but, lately I've been big on making my own food to save money and to lessen preservatives. Part of it stems from my food allergies but the other part I think is me wanting to be more healthy and stay away from preservatives. While time consuming and making my kitchen a disaster, it's worthwhile to make my own English Muffins!

Homemade Nutella

I was craving Nutella today but not interested in spending the $3.50+ it costs per jar and not interested in the "mystery" ingredients. I had found a recipe for homemade nutella on pinterest and decided today was the day to try it. (Here is the recipe I used Homemade Nutella)

Homemade Nutella

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup whole hazelnuts (The grocery only had chopped hazelnuts, so recipe will reflect that)

1 1/2 cups whole milk

3/4 cup powdered milk

1 Tbsp. honey

pinch salt

1 heaping cup chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, or chips

1 scant cup chopped milk chocolate, or chips

Directions
On a rimmed baking sheet, toast the nuts in a 400ºF for about 5 minutes, or until fragrant. While warm, transfer to the bowl of a food processor and blend until they go from finely ground to pasty and thick, like natural peanut butter.

Meanwhile, warm the milk, powdered milk, honey and salt in a small saucepan just until it starts to boil. Remove from heat. In a double boiler or in the microwave, melt the chocolates, stirring occasionally until smooth.

Add the melted chocolate to the ground nuts and continue to process the mixture, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the warm milk mixture and process until everything is well blended and as smooth as you can get it. 

Store in refrigerator and enjoy on crackers, bread, cookies, etc.

Be aware that it can look soupy at first but will thicken as it cools. Also, The original recipe said it would make 2 cups of spread, but I ended up with almost a whole quart! I don't know what I did differently.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I've been making this soup for over a year. One day my mom decided she wanted a chicken tortilla soup and tossed ingredients into the pot and cooked it. I LOVED the soup and asked for the recipe so my mom had to remember what she'd put in the soup so she could write the recipe down. I still have the index card with the ingredients, but I've made it so often I don't measure or look at the recipe any more. I've tweaked it since the original, but it's mostly the same.


Here is my Chicken Tortilla Soup 

(There are two onions because all I had this day was small onions, and I used more than the one can of chicken broth shown)
Ingredients
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, chopped
cooking oil
1 tps cumin
1 tsp chili powder
sprinkle of dried pepper flakes
salt to taste
pepper to taste
3-4 chicken breasts cooked and shredded (or cubed if you prefer)
1 (15 oz.) can sweet corn, drained
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained
1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes (plain or tomatoes with green chilies)
16-20 oz chicken broth or stock
Toppings:
sour cream
tortilla chips
shredded cheddar cheese
Directions
In a large pot cook onions and garlic in oil until unions become transparent. Add in spices and stir. Add corn, black beans, tomatoes, and chicken stock or broth. Simmer together until warm.
Hint: the longer you simmer the more the flavors blend. 


Serve topped with a dollop of sour cream, crumbled tortilla chips, and shredded cheese. 

Enjoy! 

Ham and Cheese Bread

Many years ago my family used to get a magazine called "Food and Family" that was run by Kraft Foods. In one issue they had a recipe for ham and cheddar baked into a loaf of bread. It was a hit in my family and we have been tweaking the recipe and making it our own since. 


And here is it my famous Ham and Cheese Bread. Enjoy! 

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 package active dry yeast
3 ounces unsalted butter, melted (Approximately 1 stick butter)
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
Vegetable oil
1 pound ham thinly sliced
1 package sliced cheese of your choice (provolone, muenster, pepper jack, etc.)
1 whole egg beaten with one tablespoon cold water
Coarse sea
Parmesan cheese
Directions
Combine the water, sugar, yeast, and butter in the bowl until
combined. Let sit for 5 minutes.


Add the salt and flour and mix  until combined. Continue kneading
until the dough is smooth  about 3 to 4 minutes. If the dough appears
too wet, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Remove the
dough from the bowl, place on a flat surface and knead into a ball
with your hands.


Oil a bowl with vegetable oil, add the dough and turn to coat with the
oil. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm spot
until the dough doubles in size, about 1 hour.


Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.


Remove dough from bowl and place on lightly floured surface. Using a
rolling pin, roll into a large rectangle. Add ham on top of dough
covering almost to the edges. Add cheese on top of the ham. Fold dough
over lengthwise so the edges barely overlap. Moisten all edges with
water to seal them. Carefully turn dough over and place edge side down
on a greased cookie sheet. Cut three slits in the top to allow it to
vent. Brush egg on top and sprinkle on Parmesan cheese and salt. Bake
for approximately 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown.


Cut into slices and enjoy with your favorite condiments.

It goes fast!!

Special thanks to my brother for taking these nice pictures for me.

Apple Sauce

Apple Sauce, my favorite thing about fall (I realize this is December, but I wanted to share anyway). I love it so much that I eat it straight out of the pot, nice and warm. I even warm my homemade applesauce in the microwave when it's been refrigerated.


In October I went to a local orchard and picked up three bags of apples to make into applesauce

My husband helped me pick Mutsu, Jonathon, and Fuji apples for this batch. I always mix apples when i make applesauce because it makes for a tastier applesauce

After cutting them into large slices I stuffed my largest pot full of the apples and little bit of water to keep them from sticking. No need to peel or core the apples, and I'll tell you why later. 


The apples cooked for about an hour until they were mushy and falling apart. Using a food mill that I borrowed from my mom I processed the apples to remove the skin and seeds. (This was probably the most time consuming portion)


I put the hot applesauce in canning jars and popped them into the canner to process (saving the extra for dinner that night), and then....


Edit My canner was a wedding present from friends who had recently moved away. They sent me a gift card with instructions to purchase the canning starter set. I thought it was sweet of them

Four quarts of applesauce!! This is the best applesauce I've ever made. The mix of the three gave it a rosy color and a natural sweetness. No need for sugar here! My husband agrees, this was the best applesauce I've made.