Cooking - for a new lifestyle (Our Test Kitchen)

In our house, NO ONE has mastered cooking the right amount of spaghetti for a meal. There are always lots of leftovers. Spaghetti is a regular meal around here as well, so, I always have the ingredients on hand. Leftovers or fresh this is an easy family friendly recipe. INGREDIENTS: 1 pot of cooked spaghetti (mine was part leftovers part fresh to make enough) ** my leftovers also had sauce on it! so I left a bit of the pasta water in the pot with my freshly cooked pasta and mixed the cold and hot pastas together and left to cool before going any further. 1 egg 1/4 cup parmesan cheese 1/4 cup of milk ** beat together well and pour into the pot of cooled pasta (cooled or egg will start to cook) 1 can of sauce (pasta sauce or pizza sauce) (as I said mine had some sauce but it happened that I had a can of pizza sauce to add to this dish) ** mix pasta sauce into pasta ** pour into greased 9x11 baking dish ** top with pizza sauce if desired 1/4 cup of parmesan s...

MY  Mexican rice Mix all ingredients in an oversize bowl, set aside until serving. If using a green tomato this will be a semi dry mixture. Refrigerate if necessary for preparation way ahead of dinner. Ingredients: 4 or 5 cups of cooked, rinsed and cooled rice 1 can of salad bean mix or black turtle beans 1 can of drained corn (or equal in frozen corn) 2 stalks of celery diced 1-2 onions diced 1 red pepper diced 1 green tomato diced (you can use red if you prefer) Mix the following ingredients together in a sealable bowl or cup and refrigerate. Dressing: 1/4 cup fresh lime juice 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar 2/3 cup canola oil 4 pickled jalepeno pepper rounds (due to spice problems here we used just dill pickle juice) 2 teaspoons chili powder 1 teaspoon cumin A nice alternative to potato or macaronni salad this summer. "Bon Appetit!"

Just like the reduced table at the grocery store, Sometimes that is what your crisper looks like in the fridge! Consider this easy way to mass produce a ton of stuff! In a canning pot or the biggest pot you have: Toss all forms of veggie left overs in. In my case it was some leftover potatoes, carrots and turnip from dinner the night before, the stalks of asparagus, broccoli and cauliflower (reserved the florets for freezing), the last bit of celery, a 1/2 a red pepper and a 1/2 an onion. This can also include any meat bones or turkey carcass. That is a stock. I chose to do a veggie stock. I boiled and added water for most of the 3 hours I was cooking other things. Now, you can strain out the veggies (and do it again ~ which I did ~ making a weaker stock) Cool and use or freeze. Personally I pulled out the asparagus and celery (too stringy) and pureed the whole thing! To this I added a head of broccoli florets (or a bag of frozen) and stirred well. ...

Got leftover soup?????? I had leftover cream of potato soup, but just about any cream of "?" soup would work 2-3 cups of diced meat (ham, turkey, sausage.... your choice) 2 tbsp of seasoning (I used poultry because I chose turkey.... use whatever will work) 1 onion (sliced) 4 large carrots (grated) *** frozen peas would be a nice addition or broccolli 1/2 - whole bag of frozen hash brown potatoes 4 + cups leftover cream soup 1 cup of shredded cheese (optional) In a casserole dish (I uses my rectangular pampered chef dish),  cover bottom the diced meat you chose (I used turkey) Sprinkle with appropriate seasoning cover with sliced onion cover with carrot shavings top with still frozen hash brown potatoes pour soup to cover sprinkle cheese on top Bake at 350 for about an hour. Serve with crusty bread. "Bon Appetit!"

I dug through our freezers today.  I love a challenge. I found a lot of one of a kind things. like small amounts of frozen veggie, and random pieces of chicken (1pc each), and some frozen boullion. Sounds like a casserole just waiting to be made! First the BASE: frozen potatoes/hash brown chunksor 2 large potatoes, thinly sliced 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper In a large bowl, toss potato slices with oil, salt and pepper. Arrange slices onto the bottom and sides of an 11-in. x 7-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until potato is tender. Reduce heat to 350°. Second the FILLING: 1-1/2 pounds chicken cut into 1/2-inch cubes or strips 2 teaspoons olive oil 1 1/2 cups diced tomato (I used some frozen green) 1 medium onion, chopped 1/2 green pepper mushrooms (optional) 1 tablespoon butter 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 cups milk 1 cup shredded cheese 2 ...

1/2 cup olive oil 1 large onion diced 1-2 pounds of asparagus  (I use the stalks after using the tips in other recipes) 5 cups chicken stock 1 cup heavy cream 1tbsp butter 1 tbsp flour salt and pepper crab meat or fresh diced bacon bits f desired Trim ends off and cut stalks of asparagus into 1/2-inch or smaller pieces. Cook diced onion in 2 tablespoons olive oil  in a large pot over medium heat, stirring, until softened. Add asparagus pieces and salt and pepper to taste,  then cook, stirring often for 5 minutes. Add 5 cups broth and simmer, covered, until asparagus is very tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Purée soup in batches in a blender until smooth, transferring to a bowl (use caution when blending hot liquids), and return to pan. THIS IS WHEN I refrigerated it, to continue making when I wanted to eat it. It would freeze well at this point too. Just bring back to a boil and continue from here if you choose to do the sam...

Judy dislikes sausage.  BUT! it is cheap and easy to use in recipes and adds tons of flavour.  I have begun finding places to "hide it" without ruining the recipe.  This one called for both turkey AND sausage! So this is what I used. Vary as I think this recipe leaves TONS of room for personalization. 1 sandwich bag of leftover turkey (approx 2-3 cooked and diced chicken thighs - they said a turkey drumstick!) 3 sausages diced to tiny tiny bits (or removed from casing and fried like hamburger) 1 container of soup boullion (I had some homemade in the freezer) 1 package of green onions diced 5 stalks of celery 1/2 green pepper diced small 1/2 bag of mini carrots shredded 1 can of cream corn (I use creamed corn ONLY to thicken the soup) 5-6 potatoes diced 2 tsp black pepper 2 tsp Parmesan Garlic (Pampered Chef)Seasoning **parmesan, garlic powder Cook on high for 4-5 hours and then reduce heat to medium. I then added: 1 cup of frozen peas 2 cups ...

Its that time of year when you open your fridge and find remnants of cheese and veggie trays! No dip, no cucumbers just the stuff everyone left. What do you do, most of us stick it back in the fridge and find it ready for the garbage 1 week later and throw it out. I just found a recipe that could change that. Pull out the crockpot, and lightly coat with non stick cooking spray. Add: 1-10oz can of cream of ___?___ soup OR 1-10oz can of gravy 1 cup sour cream 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheese ( gruyere, swiss or old cheddar or whatever happens to be left) 1 cup milk 1 tsp italian seasoning 1 tsp black pepper 5-6 cups of cubed red skin new potatoes (we used white - red would have been prettier) This sauce turns out rather yummy! **Note: we used the can of turkey gravy and old cheddar ________________________________________________________ This is the moment when I looked to the veggie tray! Dice up and add any RAW celery, onions, carrots, pars...

I love to "prep cook". So when I am making a chicken dinner I am also cooking extra to dice up and freeze for a recipe later. If I make a cream soup and there is leftover, I freeze for the start up of another soup. Occasionally like this morning, I found both and so I am going to make a creamy chicken soup, with leftover boiled potatoes, pre-cooked cubed chicken, and a container of cream of (broccolli?) soup I found in the freezer as my base! Before puree.... 1-2 cups leftover chicken 2 cups water or broth salt and pepper to taste 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns 1 bay leaf 2 tbsp dijon mustard 2 large carrots diced small 4 large potatoes, diced 1 cup corn 1 large onion, diced 1/2 cup celery diced 1 cup chopped fresh/frozen green beans 1 1/2 cups of cream soup (canned or leftover) and today's hidden veggie? a 1/2 small squash! peeled ad diced Throw everything into a crockpot and simmer on low all day. It really only needs to ...

So what happens when a recipe is a flop? I made curry chicken (a staple in our house) 2 nights ago and the curry was cheap. NO flavor. John said old, but I know its not that old.....so I am going back to finding my Watkins curry.  It was NEVER going to get eaten so what to do....... Or maybe the kid/husband mis-measured and you have enough rice to feed an army! 3 cups cooked rice (ours had celery and onions) 1 tbsp Sunset Gourmet Garlic 3/4 cup red/green pepper diced Put into large mixing bowl. Add: 1 package of beef vegetable soup mix 1/2 cup water (if boullion in package is a lump in soup mix add to water and mix first) Press into a greased bundt pan. Bake at 325 for 40 minutes.  While baking: 2 cups frozen corn 1/2 onion diced 1/8 cup olive oil pepper to taste Sautee in a frying pan, until onions are tender.  Corn goes intothe center of the rice when it comes out of the bundt pan. We served this dish with ribs and coleslaw. "BON APET...

Well, when you think of a side dish does celery come to mind??? Not for me. This is an item reserved for recipes and salads (and cheese whiz!) As my previous posts have done this week, I am using up bits and pieces of leftovers in my fridge, freezer and baking cupboards! So I was happy to find yet another recipe for this week that would accomplish doing this. 1/4 cup margarine 2 medium / large carrots chopped 1 cup frozen corn 1/2 cup of water or chicken stock 1 tsp garlic powder Sautee slowly until carrots are tender. Covered. **Add 1/4 cup of liquid if more is needed. 1 cup chopped onion 3 cups celery (mine was pretty beat up...the tail end of a head of celery) Add to the pan. Continue to sautee until celery is tender. Covered. 1 package of  sweetener **no sugar so I used a substitute (1/2 tsp sugar) 1/4 tsp thyme (we used italian spice) 1 tsp salt (omitted) 1/2 can of diced tomatoes (or 2 large tomatoes diced)some juice r...

So, I was emptying my baking cupboard (as I do every November) and found some muffin mixes.  Today's easy dessert is made from a banana muffin mix. I am calling it the ELVIS special. 1 - 220g banana muffin mix 1 egg 1/2 cup cold water 1/4 cup powdered milk 1/3 cup of peanut butter (all I had left in the conatiner) Mix well and pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes. Remove immediately to cool. (I use glass loaf pans so mine keep cooking if I do not) 1/3 container of vanilla icing (its what I had left or make some) I used a 1/4 cup "sweet caramel sprinkle" from Pampered Chef I had http://www.pamperedchef.com/ordering/prod_details.tpc?prodId=16633&catId=12 (nuts, toffee chips and cinnamon) Mix well.  Put cake back into the baking pan when cool. Ice right in the baking dish. This was an amazing surprise mix of tastes. Definite do over. Could definitely used an over ripe banana but I didn't have any! "BON APPET...

So I hate finding leftovers in my fridge that people "said" they were going to eat and then didn't. Such a waste. With john coming home every night soon, I am going to have to start cooking more. So leftover stews are going to be a staple. I have already posted the gumbo recipe John made this weekend. After sending a sample out, We still had some left which would have been lost in the back of the fridge. So instead I made this veggie style soup. IT IS NOT VEGETARIAN... but could be In a large crock pot: 2 cups of leftover gumbo (chicken and sausage) I broke down the meat to very small pieces! 1/2 box of bouillion liquid (500ml) 1/2 box of water (500 ml) 1/2 tub of leftover Helluva good onion dip or sour cream 1 lg stalk celery diced 1 ex lg carrot diced 7 small potatoes diced 1/2 small turnip diced onion and garlic seasoning lots of black pepper shot of soya sauce shot of worchesteshire sauce Stir well, and refrigerate till needed. Then cook on high s...

1/4 jar of leftover applesauce (if you have it) 250g cream cheese (I used apple cinnamon) 2 eggs 2 diced apples with skin 1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp nutmeg 1 tsp salt pinch of clove 1 cup sugar (I only used 1/2 because I used sweetened applesauce and flavoured cream cheese) blend well Add to: 2/3 cup milk 1/2 cup vegetable oil 3 cups flour 2 1/2 tsp baking powder Mix well. Bake at 350 on a top rack. I used muffin cups but would make a good loaf too. As a topping I used some leftover chocolate caramel fruit dip from a fruit tray! "Bon Appetit!"

2 can mandarin orange sections 1/2 tsp nutmeg 1 tsp salt 1/4 tsp clove 1 tsp cinnamon 2 eggs 1 cup sugar or substitute (I used 1/2 and 1/2) Blend lightly or you will lose the shape of oranges. Add to: 3 cups flour 2 1/2 tsp baking powder 2/3 cup vegetable oil 2/3 cup milk Mix well. these are dense muffins that rise pretty well. With some leftover jello and fruit cocktail that I heated on the stove, I pureed the mixture and dipped the muffins into it for a jellee coating. (How iron chef is that?) LOLOL "Bon Appetit!"

take some leftover jell-o and leftover fruit cocktail and puree over heat. Set aside to cool. grind up some leftover cookies add 1/2 cup sugar and a little butter to make a cookie base. Press into muffin cups. when jello starts to cool, pour over cookie bases and top with a sprinkle of cookie. refrigerate until set. "Bon Appetit!" This came because I made this jello concoction to top some mandarin orange muffins I made. I used tropical fruit jello and the concoction smelt of mangoes!!!! yummmmmmm

2 cup pumpkin (I used the meat from a halloween pumpkin gutting) 4 eggs 2 1/2 cups sugar or sweetener replacement 1/2 tsp. cloves 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 tsp. nutmeg or allspice 1/2 tsp. salt Blend well then add to: 3 cups all purpose flour 2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp baking powder 2 cups chocolate chips or pecans 2 tbsp cointreau liqueur or 2 tsp orange peel 1 cup vegetable oil Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake in a greased pan Bake for about 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Brush top of loaf with melted butter. Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon sugar, maple sugar, turbinado sugar or white sugar. Can be eaten plain, buttered, or with cream cheese "Bon Appetit!"

2 really large squash were given to us this year (they were almost 1 1/2 feet long with very little seeds). So I had to come up with a useful way to use this much of that veggie. Cut 1 squash in 1/2 and core out the middle (leaving a trench with 1" of squash around the sides. ****cube the interior flesh you take out and freeze for use in stews this winter! Leave skin on to stabilize the shape. Place into cake pan with 3/4" water. In a bowl mix: 1 cup cooked rice 1lb ground beef/pork/turkey/chicken 1/2 tsp minced garlic diced onions to taste diced green peppers to taste S&P 1 tsp italian seasoning PLUS any other veggie like mushrooms, celery or corn 1 cubed apple with or without skin stuff into you your hollowed out squash. With foil tent cover the cake pan. Bake at 325 for 2-3 hours or until flesh is tender and can be poked with a fork. Remove from oven to set (like a lasagna). Serve with a salad and/or on a bed of pasta. In a sauce pot: 1- 1 1/2 cups of apple juice/lefto...

Leftover uses! I am using up some pb/marshmallow/chocolate squares I make every year, but this works just as well with Reese PB cups. Cookie dough: (Blue Ribbon Chocolate Vhip Cookies ~ Mrs fields Cookie Book ~ pg 10) In a large bowl with an electric mixer blend 1 cup brown sugar and 1/2 1/2 cup white sugar with 1 cup room temperature margarine/butter at medium speed. Add 2 eggs and 2tsp vanilla JUST until blended. Do not overmix. Add 2 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda 1nd 1/4 tsp salt on low speed. In microwave in a bowl warm up your pb/chocolate (depending on you microwave) for 35 seconds. Not to melting, just until soft. ***You can include some stale mini marshmallows at this time too! Just add to the chocolate when you start. They added a lovely texture. Quickly dump into cookie dough, and mix at low. I needed to use a wooden spoon as mine got pretty thick (I used a lot of chocolate and marshmallow!). Using a cookie scoop, place 15 balls onto a non stick cookie sheet. Mine did n...

I seen this on tv last night! As you would normally do, prepare 4 slices of bread (4 per burger) to make 2 grilled cheese sandwiches! Over the cheese on one sandwich lay sliced cooked bacon or sprinkle crumbled cooked bacon and close. Set aside. Over the cheese on the other sandwich, add jalapenos or onions, or leave plain. Close and set aside. Cook your hamburgers as you would normally. When they are 1/2 cooked, make your grilled cheese sandwiches. Use the sandwiches instead of buns! Top with traditional toppings. ***We found lettuce a little too hard to handle, and we all removed it, as it made the burgers slide too much. "Bon Appetit!"