Beefy Barley Soup

Ingredients:
 1 lbs lean ground beef
8 oz diced mushrooms
4 diced celery stalks
3 diced carrots
3/4 cup diced onions
1/2 cup diced green peppers
2 tsp minced garlic
3/4 cup barley
1 cup lentils
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp  tomato paste
6-8 cups beef broth

Combine first 7 ingredients  in stock pot with 1/2 cup beef broth and saute until ground beef cooked.  Add remaining ingredients,  bring to boil, cover, and then simmer for 1 hour.

Senate Bean Soup

Ingredients:

2 cups dried navy beans(1 pound)
12 cups water
1 ham bone, 2 punds ham shanks, or 2 pounds smoked pork hocks
2 1/2 cups cooked mashed potatoes
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoons pepper
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 finely chopped garlic clove

Directions:

Refry beans without the refry using a crockpot

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, peeled and halved
2 cups dried pinto beans, rinsed( 1 pound)

1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoons black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
2 bay leaves
6 cups water

Directions:

Add everything to crockpot.  Cook on high for 8 hours.  Add water during cooking if needed. 

Drain beans, but set aside liquid.  Remove onions and bay leaves and discard.

Start mashing beans with a potato masher.  Add liquid as needed while mashing beans, until desired consistently. 

Refried Beans without the Refry using electric pressure cooker

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, peeled and halved
2 cups dried pinto beans, rinsed( 1 pound)
4 teaspoons canola oil
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 1/4 teaspoons black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
2 bay leaves
8 cups water

salt to taste-do not add with about ingredients

Directions:

Add everything above, except salt to electric pressure cooker.  Lock top in place and cook  for 30 minutes under high pressure. Once finished, let natural pressure release(let it release pressure itself, when it is done it will allow you to easily open).

Drain beans, but set aside liquid.  Remove onions and bay leaves and discard.

Start mashing beans with a potato masher.  Add liquid as needed while mashing beans, until desired consistently.  Add salt to taste, once mashed.

Spanish Rice

 

 

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked regular long grain rice
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teasponn garlic powder
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce

Directions:

Heat oil in skillet over medium heat.  Cook rice and onion in oil about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until rice is golden brown and onions are tender.

Stir in remaining ingredients.  Heat to boiling, reduce heat to low.  Cover and simmer about 30 minutes, stirring occasionalyy, until rice is tender.. 

Optional:  make this a one pot meal, by adding 1 pound ground beef with remaining incredients.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake With Cinnamon and Sugar

This recipe makes 2 loaves and I get rave reviews when I bring it to others.  Freezes great, if you want to eat one now and freeze the other for later.  Since we only have 3 people in the house now, I have started cutting the loaves in half and freezing 1/2 loaves, so they stay fresh as we eat it and none goes to waste.



Ingredients:

Cake: 
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
For topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoon cinnamon
Directions:

Cream butter, sugar, and eggs in large bowl. Combine sour cream and vanilla. Add to butter-sugar-egg mixture.
In another bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Gradually, add flour mixture to sour cream mixture, stirring until just combined.
For topping, combine brown sugar and cinnamon in small bowl.
Put 1/2 of the dough into 2 buttered, floured loaf pans. Sprinkle 1/2 of topping over dough. Put remaining dough over toppings. Finish with remaining topping.

 Bake at 350 until toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 45 minutes.  Makes 2 loaves.

Reorganizing pantries for a more streamline look

I have been wanting to reorganize my 2 kitchen pantries for some time, and finally had an opportunity to go to IKEA and purchase some additional storage containers.   I bought several new Ikea containers, used canning jars I already had, and bought some empty spice jars from Penzy's Spices. I loved the look of the chalkboard labels, but hated the prices I was seeing.  I needed over 100 labels, since I was relabeling everything, including spices and wanted to be able to use the same labels going forward, without worry of labels being out print when I needed more.  I did some research and found that if I used black contact paper and made my own labels, I could make a ton at a very low cost.  I purchased the black contact paper at amazon for around $5, a liquid chalk pen at amazon for around $4, and a 2 1/4 inch scalloped label maker at Hobby Lobby for about $10(used a 40% coupon available online all of the time):

The first thing I did was to clear everything out of both pantries and painted the inside of my pantries a bright green.  Using a color inside the pantries make seeing what you have so much easier to see, since they "pop" against the brighter color:

My goal when putting things back in was to get rid of as many bags and boxes that made sense to get rid of and be able to really see everything I was putting back in, so we could use more of what we have.  As you will see I have a ton of stuff, because I do cook from scratch quite a bit, but have had some prepackaged items for other family members, so they could cook. Two of our kids have moved out in the last couple of years and we only have a 17 year old left, so I will be purposely whittling down all of the different types of items that our family of 5 used, such as different pastas, to just 2 or 3 types. 





I measured the inside pantry shelves and decided to have tiers on a shelf, so that we could see everything on the shelf.  On the couple of shelves I wanted to tier, I went to lowes and got the to cut 2X4s into the lengths I needed so i could stack 3 boards in the very back and 2 boards in front of that.  I went to the dollar store and got some beige contact paper and wrapped the boards in the paper.   You could also leave the boards unpainted or paint if you want. Here is peek of the tiers on one of my shelves:

I took all of my spices and went through them all.  I threw out and replaced any that were old and put all spices in either canning jars or jars from penzy's spices, so they looked more streamlined and easier to read. 

 This project took quite a few days and anytime I got tired and wanted to start stuffing things back in, I stopped, because I wanted to do it right the first time and make a system for us that we could use for a long time(like until I die..lol)  We have been using this for about 2 weeks now and wanted to see how it was working for us before I shared this and I am now happy with the results.  I love how this is working out so much, that I plan to do the same thing to our Rivah place.

Split Pea Soup

Ingredients:

2 cups split peas
2 Tablespoons canola oil
2 medium onions, finely diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 quarts chicken broth
4 carrots, peeled and diced
Ham bone with ham pieces attached
Salt to taste

Directions:

Pick over peas to remove stones and debris.  Rinse them in cold water, unless package says presort and washed.
Heat canola oil in the bottom of a soup pot.  Saute onions, celery, and garlic until translucent.  Add chicken broth, carrots, ham bone, and lentils.  Simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until lentils are very tender.  Remove ham bone and cut ham from bone and place back in pot. If soup gets too thick, thin out with a little chicken broth.  Taste and add salt if needed.  Makes 8-10 servings. 

Chocolate Coconut Candies

These are winners at dinner parties and as gifts anytime of year.  So easy, but look like you took a lot of time to make.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 3/4 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
2 cups(12 ounce package) semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons shortening

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine confectioners' sugar, coconut, almo nds, and sweetened condensed milk.  Shape into 1 inch balls.  Refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes.

In a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate chips and shortening; stir until smooth.  dip balls in chocolate; allow excess to drip off.  Place on waxed paper; let stand until set.  Store in an airtight container.  These freeze great and can also be refrigerated(I prefer to leave in fridge if not serving that day).  Makes 2 1/2 dozen.

Zaycon Foods Boneless Chicken Review

 My family eats a lot of boneless chicken breast.  I normally purchase it on sale for $1.99 at either Kroger, Martin's, Costco, or Sams; however, once I get it home sometimes it is a gamble as to the quality of the chicken and what I can't see in the package.  Back in the summer I saw a review for Zaycon Foods in a magazine and since I love to save money and buy quality products, I was very interested in checking the company out.   After researching online, I decided to make my first purchase and I bought 40 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breast for $1.84 lb.  The 40 lb box was $73.60.  I went online to www.zayconfoods.com and looked for upcoming events, near where I live and found one about 20 miles away. They deliver to areas several times a year and you can buy fresh chicken in 40 pound boxes.  Once I placed my order and paid online, all I had to do was go pick it up at the scheduled time and place.  They did need to delay it one day, but informed me of the change ahead of time.  I went to a church parking lot and picked up my box. They put a large piece of plastic in the back of my svu and put the box, pictured below in the back for me.  The chicken was cold, from the refridgerated truck and I could tell it had not been frozen.

 When I got home I opened up the box and found a sealed bag.  I cut the bag open and found several bags inside. 

 I pulled the first 2 chicken breasts out one of the bags and was very pleased to see how big the breasts were and how good they looked with minimal fat.  Trimming them and repackaging into meal portion bags went quickly, since there wasn't much to trim away.  In fact, I ended up with less than 2 pounds of fat and skin from the entire box, much less than I would normally end up with from the store brands.

 While we were repackaging the breast, we cut several up and grilled them for dinner and leftovers.  They were delicious.  I am very happy with ease of the transaction, the quality of the chicken breast, and the overall taste.  Each breast was approx. 1 pound and I was able to divide them easily into smaller portion controled servings.  I plan on ordering from them again.  They have other items and I  have already placed myself on the waiting list for bacon and in the spring, plan on placing an order for the 93/7 Ground Beef.  I highly recommend you check them out, if you get the opporunity.

Zucchini Spaghetti

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Ingredients:
Zucchini-1 per person
Spaghetti Sauce

You can use zucchini in place of spaghetti noodles in any of your spaghetti recipes.  I .  normally use 1 zucchini per person.

Use a juliene peeler and run it along the long side of the zucchini, to make your "spaghetti noodles". 

Place the Zucchini in boiling salted water and boil for 3-4 minutes.  Drain and serve with spaghetti sauce.

Biscotti

Ingredients:
1/3 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
2 tsp orange zest
2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup semi sweet chocolate pieces
 1/2 cup toasted almond pieces(optional)
Directions:
Preheat oven at 325 degrees.  Line baking sheet with parchament paper.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, vanilla, almond extract, and zest. Combine flour, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt. Stir into the creamed mixture until just blended. Mix in almonds. 

Divide dough into two pieces. Form into long flat loaves about 1/2 inch tall and 12 inches long. Place the loaves 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.   

Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until a light golden brown. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes.

With a serrated knife, cut diagonally into slices about 1/2 inch thick. Lay the slices flat on the baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, turning over once. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.  

Place chocolate chips into a small, microwave-safe bowl. Melt chocolate in the microwave, stirring every 20 to 30 seconds until smooth. Drizzle chocolate on top of pieces. Let stand at room temperature until set. Store biscotti at room temperature in an airtight container. 

Cocoa Brownies

 Cocoa Brownies

Makes 16 large or 25 small brownies

Ingredients:
10 tablespoons (140 grams) unsalted butter(you can use light butter)
1 1/4 cups  sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, cold
1/2 cup  all-purpose flour


Directions:

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Line the bottom and sides of an 8×8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.

Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium microwave proof bowl. Place in microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each 30 seconds until melted and combined.

Stir in the vanilla.. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes.  Spread evenly in the lined pan.
Bake until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool completely on a rack. Place the pan in the freezer once cool, for 30 minutes, if you want to cut them with clean lines.
Lift up the ends of the parchment or foil liner, and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. Cut into 16 or 25 squares.

4 Minute meatloaf in a mug

Ingredients:
4 oz ground beef
2 Tablespoons oatmeal
2 Tablespoons milk
1 Tablespoon ketchup
1 teaspoon onion soup mix

Directions:
Mix all ingredients in a bowl and but in a microwave safe mug or ramekin sprayed with cooking spray.  Microwave for 4 minutes, or until cooked. Drain and let sit an additional 3 minutes.

I made up additional single servings,wrapped in plastic wrap and froze.  These can be pulled out and microwaved as above.  You may have to cook a little longer if you do not defrost first.   

Chicken Cordon Bleu-low calorie

Ingredients:
Cooking Spray
6--3 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast pieces
2 slices wheat bread
1/2 cup fresh spinach
2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese 
6 slices ham*
6 slices swiss cheese
3 egg whites

*I used a package of costco that has 4 slices for 70 calories, allowing me to use 4 thin slices per portion. 
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray.

Lay slices of chicken between waxed paper and pound with a mallet to thin out slices.

Place one slice of ham and cheese on each slice of chicken.  Fold in half or roll up if you prefer.

In a food processor, mix bread, spinach, italian seasoning, and parmesan cheese.
place egg whites in one bowl and bread mixture in another bowl.

Dip chicken in egg wash and then in bread mixture, before placing on cooking sheet.

Spray top with cooking spray and cook 25 minutes or until cooked thru.  

Under 230 calories a piece.

Eggplant Parmesan Stacks

Ingredients:
2 eggplants
1 cup crushed fiber one cereal
1 cup bread crumbs
3 TBSP flax seed
2 eggs, whisked
Cooking spray
Spaghetti Sauce
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese 

Directions:
Slice eggplants in 1/2 inch slices and place in a colander with salt.  Allow to drain for 30 minutes and then rinse off salt.  Pat slices dry.
Preheat oven at 375. 
Place egg in a bowl and in another bowl mix crushed fiber one cereal, bread crumbs, and flax seed.  Dip each slice into egg and then coat on both sides with dry mixture.  place on parchment lined baking sheet.  Spray top of slice with cooking spray before cooking for 20 minutes. Turn over and spray again and cook for another 10 minutes.

Top one slice with spaghetti sauce and mozzarella cheese.  Place another piece on top and repeat.  Place stack back into oven to melt cheese.  You can add as much sauce and cheese to your liking.  I prefer this to regular eggplant parmesan because it is not as soft and mushy; but still has a great taste.   Since this is baked, not fried, you also cut a ton of calories and fat.

Lentil Tacos

We have been trying to eat healthier and add more fiber to our diets.  I made this Friday night and had to make another batch on Monday.  My family did not even miss the ground beef and in fact we told one of our teen age daughters it was taco meat and she ate it no questions(normally she will not eat anything "healthy".

Ingredients:
1/2lb cooked lentils
1 package low sodium taco mix
2/3 cup of water

Directions:
Mix all ingredients and cook until thickened.  Serve on taco shells, with toppings of your choice.  Three were a very filling dinner for an adult.

Microwave Granola

Ingredients:

3 cups oats

1 cup 5 grain blend

1/2 cup flax seed

1/4 cup chia seeds

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup nuts

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup cheerios

 

1/4 cup honey

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

1/4 cup coconut

1/3 cup raisins/craisins

Directions:

Mix first 8 ingredients in a 9 X 11 casserole dish.  Mix in honey and vanilla.  Add dish to microwave and microwave on high for 2 minutes.  Take out and stir up ingredients.  Microwave another 3 minutes.

Allow to cool and then mix in last 3 ingredients.  Store in an airtight container.

This recipe can be changed depending on your individual tastes and what you have in your pantry.  I have been making this recipe for years and this last batch I added flax and chia seeds for the first time.  Adding these two ingredients made the granola more filling.

 

Pepper Steak

Our garden is brimming with peppers--green, red, banana; which means one thing to my husband--pepper steak time.  This is a quick and easy meal to wip up in less than 30 minutes and can be served with rice or potatoes.

Ingredients:
1 1/2lb steak, sliced thin
1 TBSP olive oil
5 green peppers, cut into strips
3 red peppers, cut into strips
7 banana pepper, cut into strips
1 large onion,sliced thin
1 large garlic clove,minced
1 1/2cups beef broth
1/2 cup tomato sauce
2 TBSP soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup water
2 TBSP corn starch

Directions:
Heat olive oil in a wok and once heated, add steak, onions, and garlic to pan.  Stir-fry until onions are transparent and steak is still a little pink.
Add beef broth, tomato sauce, salt, and soy sauce to pan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, uncover and increase to high heat.  Add peppers and cook for 5 minutes.  Add cornstarch to 1/2cup hot water.  Once mixed, add to pan and reduce heat to simmer.  Simmer 3 minutes or until sauce is thickened.   Serve over rice or mashed potatoes. 

Low calorie Yogurt Strawberry muffins

This is a low calorie basic muffin recipe, that can be substituted with different ingredients to change the flavors.  This makes 12 muffins, and has 70 calories as written below.

Ingredients:
1 cup crushed fiberone cereal
3/4 cup flour
2 egg whites,or 6 TBSP egg whites in a carton
12 oz Strawberry non-fat yogurt(100 calories a cup)
1/3 cup Splenda
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup low calorie strawberry jam,

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and place 12 baking cups in a muffin pan.

Mix together egg whites, applesauce, and yogurt.  Stir in cereal and remaining ingredients, just until moistened.  If you want to add fresh, frozen, or dried berries, add them right before portioning out to muffin cups.  Divide batter among 12 cups, or you can make mini muffins(reduce cooking time).

Bake 23-25 minutes until toothpick comes out clean and golden brown.

**Jam is an optional ingredient,but we love adding jam, if we are making a compatible muffin.  I have also used vanilla non-fat yogurt, when making apple muffins.  I have added flax seed to replace some of the flour.  I have made batches with both wheat and white flour. I have made blueberry muffins, with blueberry yogurt and dried blueberries. These are very filling and not too sweet.