So much fun and a snack

At the beginning of every year not only do I set goals for the coming year but I also reevaluate my priorities. This means that the first few months of a new year are typically more relaxed....until I forget and start putting too much back on my plate! This past week has been so much fun!

We started back to school:

Allan and I were studying the sentence patterns S LV PA/PN and S V DO (with and without adverbs) this morning and he said, "Mom, I'm really starting to understand English and when you understand it, it's so much fun!" His eyes were sparkling and there was excitement in his voice. Now - just so you know - that doesn't happen very often. Yesterday when learning how to repartition fractions to name equivalent fractions in higher terms.....it was a different story.

Stephen has finally learned the word "the." This may not seem like much but it took Allan and Daniel 5-8 months to learn it also. I don't know why....I just know, it has tried my patience like no other educational challenge. We've played games, drawn it in shaving cream and sand, colored it, spelled it, paid money for every time they said it on the first try........at long last......we have mastered the crazy thing. My teacher heart is rejoicing!

We've picked back up with babysitting once a day every other week. The boys love it

but in addition to teaching this morning I have also:
1. Cleaned up one spilled box of cereal in the kitchen
2. Gone on a dirty diaper hunt - while I was washing my hands he hid it behind the couch
3. Cleaned up a bottle of spilled red pepper flakes
4. Rescued lost scissors that came from who knows where
you get the idea.......so much fun but I can't remember how I homeschooled Allan when I had two toddlers!

One of the batches of bread this week got neglected during the final raising phase. It probably raised and fell umpteen times during the 3 hours I forgot about it. It ended up looking like this:

It tasted fine but was a bit hard to use so the chickens enjoyed it.

The boys thought I should share one of their favorite snacks which I adapted from the original found on Money Saving Mom's site which she linked from Smashed Peas and Carrots which.......anyhow - I don't know where the original came from but  here's our version.

Homemade Energy Balls

2 cups quick oatmeal

1 cup peanut butter

2/3 cup honey

1 cup coconut flakes

1 cup wheat germ

1 cup flaxseed

1 cup mini chocolate chips (I never buy the mini so I use regular sized)

2 tsp. vanilla

Mix all the ingredients together and roll into balls. We keep them in the freezer and then thaw them for 5-10 minutes before eating. 

If you have a bulk food grocery near you that's the best way to make this recipe economical. I can get 

Coconut - $2.31/lb

Flax $1.87/lb

Wheat germ $.69/lb

Honey is most economical (in our area) at Sam's Club. 

Recipe for Communion Bread

When I was growing up, my mom was responsible for making the bread for our communion services. As a child, this was wonderful because we got the "overdone" or ends that weren't "pretty" enough to serve during the service. My Grandma Miller has shared stories of getting together with my Grandma Slagenweit, who were both the wives of deacons, to make communion bread together. This is the recipe they all used.

Communion Bread
6 cups of flour in a large bowl
2 1/2 sticks of butter
1 stick of margarine

Cut up butter and margarine into small pieces and work into the flour using fork or pastry blender. When done butter and margarine should not be be any larger than the size of a pea.

Make a well n the flour and add 1 can of evaporated milk. Work into the flour using a fork. You may need to add close to an additional 2/3 cup of milk until dough holds together.

Knead on a floured surface for 10 minutes. Lightly grease cookie sheet. Roll out dough on cookie sheet to not over 1/4 inch thickness. Using a ruler, score the dough into squares but don't cut the whole way through. prick each square three times with a fork.

Bake 20 minutes at 325-350 degrees - it will not brown a lot.

Allow to cool on the pan and then break into squares.

Baked Chicken

This is our favorite baked chicken recipe. I loved it when my mom made it and my boys love it to.

Ingredients:
Chicken thighs or legs (you can remove the skin or leave it on)
1 stick of melted butter or margarine
several cups of Rice Crispies or Corn Flakes smashed fine (I put them in a Ziploc bag and run a rolling pin over them until they're finely ground)
salt and pepper

Dip the chicken in the melted butter and roll in the cereal crumbs. Place in a baking pan. Salt and pepper to taste. Bake on 350 for 50 - 70 minutes. It's done when well browned and when poked the juices are clear. If you use chicken breasts the time will need to be extended.

I'll add a final picture when I can remember to do so.

Stromboli

Growing up my mom would make Stromboli as a special treat. I've modified it to meet our needs and my family loves it. I've found that depending on what are of the country you're from you may have never heard of it. Stromboli is sort of like a pizza pocket.

Ingredients:
1 loaf of frozen bread dough thawed
1 jar of pizza sauce
1-2 cups of diced honey ham lunch meat
1-2 cups of diced cotto salami
1 1/2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
pepperoni
beaten egg white and Parmesan cheese (optional)

Roll out the bread dough into a roughly a 12x14 rectangle. Towards the "bottom" spoon 1/2 the jar of pizza sauce.

Add meats, cheese, and pepperoni on top of the pizza sauce. It will look something like this:

The easiest way to wrap it together is to fold the sides in first,

The roll up from the bottom - the filling will push towards the top but should not go the whole way or it won't form a tight seal.

You want to try and form a seal with the dough - but sometimes (as you'll see in the last picture) it still leaks. Some people leave the pizza sauce out and use it as a dipping sauce and that fixes the problem but my family likes it with the sauce and then the other half of the jar can be used for dipping. We like to brush ours with beaten egg white and Parmesan cheese.

Place the Stomboli on a greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes. You want it to be browned well so that the dough is cooked the whole way through.

Note: Over the years I've discovered that cheap ham tastes nasty and have found that honey ham tastes the best (and I even use the off brand and it still tastes good). Do not use hard salami (unless you like the taste) - cotto tastes the best combined with the other flavors.

Also - my mom used to do individual ones and would pull the dough from the top and bottom, rolling it together and fastening it with toothpicks. Then the sides would be rolled and toothpicked to the top. This will also work on the non-individual strombolis and tend not to run out as much. The only reason I stopped doing it this way is because it takes longer and I could never remember how many toothpicks I used.

Enjoy!

Amit's Chicken Nuggets

Two years ago a student came to GBS who had been a chef and over the years owned a number of eating establishments. Several times he has cooked for us but this is the the one the boys have requested over and over. At our house it's known as "Amit's Chicken Nuggets".

3 boneless, skinless breasts
1 1/2 cups hot water
6 chicken bullion cubes
2 tsp. Mrs. Dash seasoning
1 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
1 box of Panko bread crumbs
oil


Put water and bullion cubes in a large bowl and allow the bullion cubes to soften. Slice chicken breasts at an angle so that you have a fillet about 1/3 inch thick (this is most easily accomplished when the breast is partially frozen). After making sure the bullion cubes are dissolved, add the 2 tsps. of Mrs. Dash's seasoning and then place chicken in the mixture. Mix well and allow to sit while you gather your other ingredients and set up for the next step.

Place the flour, milk, and bread crumbs in separate shallow dishes. I line mine up so that I can go from one to the next like this:

Heat a 1/4 inch oil in the skillet on medium-high heat and when the oil is ready begin adding the chicken. Remove marinated chicken, dip in flour, quickly dip in milk, and then dip in Panko bread crumbs covering completely. Place in hot oil and brown on one side. When browned, turn to the other side. The time depends on the thickness of your cut and the heat of the oil. Drain on paper towels and keep warm in the oven until all the cutlets are fried.

You may need to add some more oil periodically. Oil can be a tricky thing - too hot and it burns the outside without cooking the inside - too cool and your food soaks up too much oil. It's best to start with the heat a little above the halfway point on your dial and experiment from there.

They take a little bit of cooking time but the prep time is minimal. Paired with a baked potato and a salad, it makes a full meal.

Casserole

Some people call this dish "Goulash" which doesn't sound appealing at all. In our home it was hamburger and macaroni casserole. Quick, easy and freezes well - it's one that's easy to fall back on.

Brown 1 pound of hamburger with several Tablespoons of diced onions and a teaspoon of salt. Keep working with the meat to keep it in small chunks. Cook 3/4 cup of macaroni until it's soft but not mushy - following the directions on the package.

Combine drained macaroni with the hamburger. Add 1 pint of tomato juice, 1/8 cup sugar, and 3 Tablespoons of Spatini (an Italian seasoning that can be found in some grocery stores, ethnic stores or several places online). Mix well. Top with cheese - American or cheddar and bake on 350 for 30-40 minutes or until browned and bubbly.

Six Weeks of Dinner Menu Ideas

Several months ago my dad shared his frustration with that problem called, "What to have for dinner". (or supper as it's called where I grew up) He said he now understands why mom would come home from work and say, "What you would you like for supper?" That's half the battle right there! So I told him that I would sit down and hammer out some menus using a lot of mom's old standby's. So Dad, here's a series of six weeks worth of menus that I kept track of over the summer. Some of them aren't mom's but most of them are or are a spin-off. If there are any recipes that you'd like just let me know.

Week One

Monday - Spaghetti, Garlic Bread, Green Beans
Tuesday - Enchiladas, Tossed Salad
Wednesday - Chicken Nuggets, Macaroni and Cheese, Lima Beans
Thursday- Baked fish, Baked  Sweet Potatoe with Cinnamon Butter, Peas, Applesauce
Friday - Pizza Night
Saturday -  Philly Steak sandwiches, French Fries
Sunday - Baked Chicken (cornflakes/rice crispies), Sweet Potato Fries, Corn, Jello salad

Week Two

Monday - Meatloaf, Baked Potatoes, Green Beans

Tuesday - Marinated Grilled Chicken (Italian Dressing), Noodles, Squash, Applesauce

Wednesday -  Tacos

Thursday - Grilled Salmon, Seasoned Rice, Salad with Mandarin Oranges, Gorgonzola Cheese and Raspberry Vinaigrette

Friday - Pizza Night

Saturday - BBQ Grilled Chicken, Stuffed Baked Potatoes, Broccoli

Sunday - Pork Loin, Mashed Potatoes, Corn, Green Bean Casserole, Deviled Eggs

Week Three

Monday - Sloppy Joes, Macaroni and Cheese, Green Beans and Kidney beans dressed with milk and butter

Tuesday -  Chicken Fajitas, Spanish Rice

Wednesday - Hamburg Gravy and Mashed Potatoes, Cracker Barrel Green Beans

Thursday -  Ziti, Garlic Bread, Peas

Friday- Pizza Night

Saturday - Grilled Fish, Parsley Potatoes, Roasted Asparagus, Applesauce

Sunday -  Roast, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Carrots, Green Beans, Corn, Orange Jello Salad

Week Four

Monday - Chicken Broccoli Casserole, Baked Apples

Tuesday - BBQ Grilled Pork Chops, Mrs. Z's Rice, Stir Fried Green Beans

Wednesday - Beef Sandwiches, Potato Chips

Thursday - Salmon Cakes, Stewed Tomatoes, Baked Potatoes, Peas

Friday -  Pizza Night

Saturday - Hamburgers

Sunday -  Roasted Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Filling, Corn, Green Jello Salad

Week Five

Monday - Goulash, potato wedges, Lima Beans/Brussel Sprouts

Tuesday -  Taco Salads

Wednesday - Chinese chicken, rice, eggs and mushrooms

Thursday - Hamburger, green bean, potato and carrot packets - baked corn

Friday - Pizza night

Saturday - Grilled Cheese and soup night

Sunday -  Poor Man's Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli Casserole, Orange Jello Salad

Week Six

Monday - Stuffed peppers, Sweet Potato Fries, Applesauce

Tuesday - Creamed chipped beef gravy over biscuits, roasted asparagus

Wednesday -  Reuben Sandwiches, Potato chips

Thursday - Salmon soup, oyster crackers, Salad

Friday - Pizza Night

Saturday - Breakfast for supper 

Sunday -  Ham, Hashbrown Casserole, Candied Carrots, Cauliflower, Seven Layer Salad

In the freezer I try to keep a batch of frozen Vegetable Soup, Broccoli Soup, Ham and Green Bean Soup, White Chili and Regular Chili in addition to some casseroles in case some of these fall through. It also gives me a stash to run to when someone else might have need. 

My Kind of Salad

One of my mothering mistakes was not introducing raw vegetables into my boys' live earlier and so......they will not touch a salad now......not even with lots of dressing. They will eat lettuce and tomato on tacos and sandwiches with some reminders of it being good for them but salad? No way. I was extolling the virtues of salad again yesterday and Stephen piped up, "I think I know a salad I would like." I said "tell me about this salad that you would like."  "Oh," he replied, "you start with melty chocolate and add M&M's, mix that up and put a lollypop on the top and you have a candy salad. I would love it!" So would I son, so would I.

And look.......someone else had the same idea! They just forgot the lollypop!

Recipe for Ham loaf

One of our family favorites is ham loaf - which was one of my Grandma Slagenweit's recipes. The start of which was always 2-3 lbs of ham loaf from Rhodes's Meat Market in Martinsburg, PA. Since you probably won't be in that area any time soon - I think probably a 50/50 ratio of ground ham and ground pork would work. Or you might want to check at a local meat market and see if they may have something similar to that ratio.

To 2lbs of ground meat you add:
1/2 tsp of season salt
1/4 tsp of accent
1Tbs. dried onion flakes or 1/8 cup chopped onion
sprinkle with parsley flakes
1 egg
1/2 package of crushed saltine crackers that have been soaked in milk (here I don't know the amount - just enough that the crackers are soggy)

Mix well and form into a loaf in a baking pan.

Mix the glaze together and pour over ham loaf.
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 Tbs. mustard
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup water

Cover and Bake at 350 for 60-75 minutes. Remove the foil the last 5 minutes to brown the meat a bit. Pan drippings can be thickened for gravy - it's a somewhat sweet gravy which some may or may not like.

Hint: Do not put the glaze on until ready to place in the oven. I made the mistake of making it one Saturday night and putting the glaze on so that all I had to do Sunday morning was put it in the oven. The glaze had so soaked into the meat it was inedible. Of course I also had company that day :o) Thankfully mishaps like that don't happen often!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

This is my mother's recipe for Broccoli Cheese Soup. I believe she adapted it from a Brethren Women's Cookbook.

3/4 cup onion
3 Tbs. Margarine
Saute onion in margarine for 3 minutes.
Add:
6 cups of water
6 chicken bullion cubes
Heat to boiling and stir until cubes are dissolved.
Gradually add:
8 oz. thin noodles
1 tsp. salt
Cook three minutes.
Stir in 2 - 10oz packages of broccoli which has been cooked according to package directions. If using fresh broccoli, it must be fully cooked and finely chopped.
Add:
1/4 tsp garlic powder and cook for 4 minutes.
Reduce heat and Add:
6 cups of milk
1 lb of Velveeta cheese.
Stir until cheese is melted. Season with pepper to taste.

Vegetable Soup

Now that summer is winding down and the evenings are chilly it's time to start putting the garden produce to good use. I made a batch of vegetable soup this afternoon and decided to post it since my dad has been asking for my mom's recipe and someone else mentioned how good my Grandma Slagenweit's vegetable soup was. This is their recipe.

 Take one chuck roast (lightly marbled) and place in a large dutch oven. The roast I used was just a little over 2 lbs. Add 4 cups of water, 3tsp of salt, and 1 tsp of ground pepper.

Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a low simmer. It will need to simmer until it pulls apart easily with a fork. This one simmered for 3 1/2 hours this morning. Remove meat from broth and pull apart with a fork into small pieces removing and discarding fat. (I then pop mine in the fridge until I need it in a few hours)

The comes the fun part: To the broth in my pan I add almost equal amounts (1 1/2 - 2 cups of each) of peas, green beans, lima beans, yellow beans, carrots, cabbage, and corn. I also chop up about 1/2 of a medium onion and add a quart of diced tomatoes. Now, all of the vegetables came out of our garden and were frozen (except the tomatoes that were canned) so if you're using produce you purchased you'll want to buy frozen instead of canned. Then add 3 more tsp of salt (only add this addition of salt if you are using no canned vegetables that have salt in them - if you're unsure, don't add any - better not to add and then be able to add later than to add too much) and then.......I know this is going to sound strange but you have to add 1/8 of a cup of sugar.

Let me explain: I'm from Pennsylvania and we put sugar in everything. Our desserts, our salads, our vegetables, our cornbread and our meat. I had no idea that some people don't put sugar in their sloppy joe or taco meat until I married a man who was raised in the south. In the south they don't put sugar in anything - not their meat, not their vegetables (you fry those) nor their cornbread. They save all that sugar and put it in their iced tea - it's like syrup. But see, in the north you spread that sugar all out and that includes a little in your iced tea. So trust me.......put the sugar in the soup.

Also - don't put potatoes in it. That's just nasty. Trust me.

Without the tomatoes:

 With the tomatoes:

Bring to a boil and then turn down to a low simmer. Simmer for about 2 1/2 - 3 hours until vegetables are very tender. Then add the meat and heat until warmed through. There is nothing better than a bowl of this with a slice of homemade bread! Enjoy!

Mom's Cake Icing

 
This was my mother's recipe for icing. My brother needs this pretty often to ice his cinnamon rolls so to spare him a phone call -

Mom's Icing Recipe

2 cups powdered sugar

1 egg white 

Lightly beat egg white and slowly add powdered sugar. 

Add:

1/2 stick Butter, softened

1/2 cup Crisco

1 Tbs. Flour

2 Tbs. Milk

1 tsp. Vanilla

1/2 tsp Salt

Whip until light. Use for cakes or cinnamon rolls.

Broccoli Casserole Recipe

Here's something to balance the ice cream from previous posts (.....maybe?).
This was a casserole my mom made that came from her sister, Carol Jones.

Broccoli Casserole

1 Bag of Broccoli - precooked

1 can of mushroom soup

1 cup Swiss cheese - shredded

1/3 cup sour cream

1/4 tsp pepper

1 jar pimentos

1 can fried onions

Save 1/2 can onions and 1/2 cup cheese and  put on top last 5 minutes. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Another Healthy Recipe

I fixed Chocolate Ice Cream Pies for our discipleship group last week. My grandma Slagenweit used to make these and I think she got the recipe from a parishioner when they pastored at the Canoe Creek Brethren in Christ Church.

Chocolate Ice Cream Pies

Pie Shells: 1 package Pillsbury Devils Food Cake Mix

                 3/4 cup Pillsbury ready to spread chocolate frosting

                 3/4 cup water

                 1/4 cup oil

Heat oven to 350. Generously grease bottom, sides and rim of 2 nine inch round cake pans or long pan. In large bowl blend all shell ingredients and beat 2 minutes at the highest speed. Spread batter in bottom of pans. Do not spread up sides of pans. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Do not over bake. Cake will collapse to form shells. Cool completely. 

 In a large bowl blend 1/2 gallon of vanilla ice cream until smooth. Spread evenly in center of shell leaving 1/2 inch rim. Have remainder of can of frosting mix softened in hot water. Drop by spoonfuls * on top of ice cream and swirl with knife. Store in freezer.

*Note - I tried this but it always "globs" on me so it's easier to melt and drizzle. My grandma was able to swirl but I can't seem to do it....perhaps if the ice cream was softer?

Special Breakfast

For breakfast this morning we had oatmeal (just followed the directions on the can) with cinnamon mixed in, topped with ice cream (to help cool the oatmeal of course), chocolate chips, coconut and pecan pieces sprinkled on top.

I think the boys liked it!

Edible Christmas Wreath

My Grandma Slagenweit made these every year at Christmastime and I loved them as a child. Nothing nutritious here but so very fun!

Suggestion - It helps to measure everything beforehand.

You'll need:

1/2 Cup Margarine
30 Marshmallows
1 tsp green food coloring
1 tsp vanilla
3 1/2 cups corn flakes
Cinnamon red hots and silver dragees

Melt margarine and marshmallows on medium heat stirring constantly until marshmallows are melted. Add food coloring and vanilla and stir. Add corn flakes and stir until corn flakes are covered with marshmallow mixture.

Allow to cool until  able to handle. Form a ring around a plate then decorate with cinnamon red hots and silver dragees.

Cinnamon Salad Recipe

My mom used to make this jello salad for special occasions. It makes such a pretty addition to a meal.

Cinnamon Salad

Dissolve 6-8oz of cinnamon red hot candies* in 1 cup boiling water. 

Dissolve 1 large pkg of strawberry jello ion 1 cup boiling water.

Add above to 1 qt applesauce. 

Chill and top with cool whip.

*Cinnamon red hots can be found in the baking aisle of the grocery store usually with the cake decorating supplies. They can be over 2.00 for 2 oz. The best place to buy them is a bulk food grocery store. The last time I bought in bulk, I paid 3.00 for 15oz. 

Also note: if you use homemade applesauce it doesn't set up well if you use 1 quart, try cutting back by 3/4 cup and it will do well.

Chicken Noodle and Corn Soup

Growing up this was a frequent favorite of mine and has worked well for my little family. After a friend's family recently contracted the stomach virus I made up a batch and took to them. She asked for the recipe and so here it is.

You first need some type of chicken. I prefer to roast a chicken with seasoned salt, garlic and onion powder, and fresh ground pepper. It makes a rich broth that gives a wonderful base. I've also used boiled chicken breasts but the broth isn't nearly as rich. I just watch for a chicken to be reduced to $2.00 or so and use it for recipes like this.

Roast chicken (or boil) until meat is very tender. This little guy roasted at 325° for three hours this morning.

There was a good 3 cups of broth and since I needed just a bit more I added another 1-2 cups of water and plenty of salt. I used a package of corn that we put up last summer. It's a creamier type corn but frozen is probably better than canned for this recipe.

Add your favorite noodles. I used 3/4 package of No Yolk today.

Simmer until the noodles are tender (not soggy) about 20 minutes. Then add your chopped chicken.

Sorry there's no picture of the finished product. We were so preoccupied with eating it that we didn't get a picture. It's a great cold-weather soup when served with fresh baked bread.

Baked Apples

We had some friends over for supper Thursday evening and I fixed one of Allan's favorite dishes, baked apples. I thought I'd share the recipe with others who may be interested. This works a serving of fruit into a "meat and potatoes" meal and makes a wonderful side dish.

Baked Apples
7-9 apples peeled and quartered
Place in baking dish.
Mix together 1 heaping teaspoon of cornstarch, 3/4 cup water and 2 Tbs. of sugar. Pour over apples. Sprinkle 1/4 cup white sugar and 1/4 cup brown sugar over apples. Sprinkle with cinnamon and dot with slivers (about 1 1/2 tablespoons) of margarine. Bake 45 minutes to 1 hour at 350° until apples are soft.

For those who have my mom's recipe, this one is the same but cuts out 1 cup of sugar. I found you don't even miss it. Enjoy!