Cooking - for a new lifestyle (Our Test Kitchen)

The idea of this is you can prep everything ahead of time and clean the kitchen. You will only have a few bowls to wash in the end. In a pot boil enough rice for your diners. When rice is done to your taste, rinse quickly in cold water **This will stop further cooking (and cut down on stach and stickiness). Set aside until dinner time. In same pot you cooked rice, on med heat 2 tsp vegetable oil about 1/2 cup of thin soup noodles 1"ish (or broken spaghetti) about 1/2 cup chopped almonds, cashews, pecans or pistachios Essentially you are going to fry these noodles creating vermicelli! Watch carefully and when you start to see colour, remove from heat or you will have VERY well done noodles....) and cool/drain on a paper towel. Set aside until it is dinner time. On a large plate dice up a cheap steak into small cubes **You can use chicken, pork or sausage as well Set aside until it is dinner time In bowl #1 diced carrots, corn, water chestnuts **Any hard core veggies that need extra...

In a bowl: 2-3 cans of tuna, salmon, flakes of ham or flakes of chicken 1/2 chopped onion 4 stalks of celery and enough mayonaise/salad dressing to completely cover S&P Mix well and put in fridge for now. In a large bowl: 4 cups flour 4 tbsp baking powder 1 tsp salt 5 tbsp of shortening, margarine, butter or vegetable oil 2 cups milk Mix well. If too wet, add a little more flour (YOU DO NOT WANT THIS TOO DRY!) If too dry, add a little more milk (YOU DO NOT WANT SOUP!) Pour mixture out onto a floured surface and roll into a rectangle. It does not need to be perfectly shaped. Spread tuna (or whatever) mixture onto the dough and roll the longest end into itself forming a long tube. Do not roll the shorter end all the way down the rectangle! Too many layers does not allow the dough to bake in the center. Pinch off the ends of the roll, and make thin slices/poke with fork through the top of the roll to ensure the steam can get out. Beat an egg and a tiny bit of milk and brush all over t...

We needed a vegetable last night and this one popped into my head at the last second. It is fast and Judy says she loves this....so, add another veggie to her "like" list. 1 green tomato (we used plum)sliced into rings 1 tsp oil 1/4 tsp garlic 1/4 tsp italian seasoning S&P ***for each person eating In a hot fry pan add oil and garlic. On med setting place rings of tomato into oil. Sprinkle with seasoning. When tender (about 1/2 cooked through) flip and repeat seasoning. Do not cook until mushy. About 3-4 minutes per side max! This was so easy and she said it had the texture and somewhat tase of an onion ring. Next time she wants to try breading them first! "Bon Appetit!"

15 cups peaches 6 cups sugar 6 tbsp lemon juice 3 tsp vanilla, coconut or brandy extract Peel and cut the peaches and place them into a food processor to puree in batches.  In a large stockpot, combine the puree, sugar and lemon juice.  Bring the mixture to a boil and then simmer for 5 minutes more.  Add the flavouring of your choice.  Fill sterilized pint jars and then process for 20 minutes in a water bath.  Makes 8 pints. Had pancakes with Peach Syrup for breakfast this morning.  Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!!! From http://wiseanticsoflife.blogspot.com

1/4 cup olive oil 2 cups chopped onion 3/4 cup chopped carrot 3 chopped garlic 4 cups chopped tomatoes (I used grape tomatoes) Put all these ingredients in a crock pot and cook on high for 4 hours.  Near the end of cooking time add: 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil 1 jar Original Ragu sauce I think all the ladies at Ladies' Day Out enjoyed this sauce on penne with Parmesan.  I know Hal and I did.

I'm sure this dish has a more sophisticated name, but in our family it is referred to as "Green Glop" or "Body Filler".  Despite the silly names we've given it, this salad/dessert/whatever is delicious and a Must Have at family gatherings. 1 large Cool Whip 1 instant pistachio pudding mix 1 19 oz. crushed pineapple 2 cups mini marshmallows Mix together and chill before serving.

In a large bowl mix 4 cups blackberries 3/4 cup sugar 1 tbsp flour 1 tsp lemon rind Mix together and set aside. Take thawed but cold puff pastry (I used the thawed frozen kind). Roll out on floured serface. I rolled out until I had enough for 3-4 layers of pastry. Beat one egg with a little water and brush on both sides of pastry. In a lightly greased square or rectanguar baking pan, pour in the berries. Lay down layer after layer of pastry brushed with egg. Bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes. "Bon Appetit!"

4 cups diced rhubarb Place in a lightly greased square or rectangular cake pan. *I used a mixture of fresh and frozen. 1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup water 1 tsp vanilla 1 tbsp cornstarch In a saucepan cook until mixture is clear and thick. Pour over rhubarb in dish. 1/2 cup flour 1 cup brown sugar 3/4 cup rolled oats 1 cup melted butter Combine and pour over rhubarb. Bake for 1 hour at 350. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream. Makes 10 servings. "Bon Appetit!"

My favourite part of fried chicken or breaded pork chops is the coating. I love it when it is thick and crunchy. I dug this recipe out of an online site and made it my own. Crush leftover crackers, plain cerreals (rice krispies and corn flakes) and bread crumbs with some Italian seasonings, garlic powder and S&P. Mix into a large bowl. In a seperate bowl, just some plain flour. In another bowl mix 1 cup milk, 2 large tbsp mayo and 1 egg. Mix well. Dredge thawed meat in flour, then milk mixture, then into bread crumbs. I was able to do each piece of meat (5 pieces) twice. Refrigerate for 2-3 hour. At dinner, fry each piece of meat in a small bit of oil until brown. Then bake in oven until dinner is resdy to serve. "Bon Appetit!"