Cooking - for a new lifestyle (Our Test Kitchen)

2 large eggs 1/4 cup maple syrup 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp vanilla 1 tsp cinnamon 1/4 cup salted butter, melted 1/2 cup applesauce 1 small apple, grated 1-1/4 cups milk 3 cups old-fashioned oats Butter a 2 quart baking dish. In a large bowl, whisk together all ingredients, except the oats. Fold in oats and combine well Transfer mixture into the buttered baking dish and spread evenly around.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic directly on top of the oat mixture.  Refrigerate overnight. In the morning, preheat oven to 375F.  Unwrap oatmeal and place in the oven.  Bake for about 30 minutes until oatmeal is set and browned on top. Serve hot with milk or cream. Deb, Taylor and I taste tested this recipe and feel it needs extra sweetness and perhaps a little more cinnamon so either add some brown sugar into the recipe or have it on the table to add with your milk . . . Hmmmmmmm . . . I wonder how it would taste with vanilla yogur...

1 large butternut squash - peeled and cubed 1/2 green pepper 1 large onion garlic (I used garlic oil but minced garlic or dry garlic would work) holiday seasoning (sage, italian seasonings, S&P) 1 cup water I baked the above items in a Pampered Chef casserole dish covered with a cookie sheet to keep in the moisture at 350 for about 1 1/2 hours or until quite soft. (*the smell of garlic through the house was awesome! so I must have used quite a bit.) baked squash cubes 1 can evaporated milk 2 cans water 3 tsp chicken boullion Allow to cool, so you don't crack your food processor bowl or blender, for about 1/2 - 3/4 hour. Then process everything into a puree. Pour directly into a crock pot. It took 2 loads to process all of my squash without making a mess. In the bowl of the food processor, pour 1 can evaporated milk, 3 tsp chicken boullion powder and 2 cans of water * the reason I do this is to ensure I get all the spices and vegetable out of the bowl. Blend and then add to the ...

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...

A fellow letterboxer brought a delicious pasta salad to our meet up in May. I begged for the recipe and she sent it to me. Whole package of tricolor spiral pasta Whole cucumber, sliced up and cut in half Whole plastic container of grape tomatoes, tomatoes cut in half Whole jar of pitted kalamata olives (make sure to drain the brine well before using) Whole yellow or orange pepper, diced Whole red onion, diced Bunch of green onions, diced Whole package of kraft crumbled feta cheese (I like the one with oregano) Whole small bottle of balsamic salad dressing (for the picnic, I used the real olive oil kraft version with fig - I like the sweetness of it) Cook the noodles and then mix everything together. It's nice warm, too - but let it chill in the fridge if you like it cold. If you're making it the night before (like I did), it's better to leave out the salad dressing until the day of then mix it in - the noodles suck up the dressing like crazy and it d...

We've been making this quick and easy salad for over 10 years now. 1 pound of ground beef Taco seasoning (optional) 1 pepper (can be green, red, orange, yellow or maybe a little bit of each)-chopped 1/2 onion-chopped 2 pieces of celery-chopped 1/2-1 Tbsp of butter 1 head of lettuce-shredded 450g of cheddar cheese-shredded 1/2 large bottle of Russian salad dressing (or 1 full small bottle) 1 Bag of crushed up tortilla chips Sour cream to top. 1. Cook up the ground beef and drain the grease. If you'd like a little bit of flavor, add in one of those small packets of Taco seasoning. 2. After chopping the pepper, onion and celery, saute them together in the butter before adding them in with the ground beef. Set aside. 3. Shred the lettuce and the cheese. 4. In a large bowl, add ground beef and vegetable mix, shredded cheese and lettuce. Mix. 5. While mixing, add in handfuls at a time of the tortilla chips to crush with the spoon. Also start adding the Russian dressing. 6. When finis...

Mum and I took this to a Cow Pow Wow last night... not much left by the time we went home. 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk 1 1/2 cups cold water 1 (1 ounce) package sugar-free instant vanilla pudding mix 1 (8 ounce) container frozen reduced-fat frozen whipped topping, thawed 1 (9 inch) prepared angel food cake 4 cups sliced fresh strawberries 3 whole fresh strawberries In a bowl, whisk the milk and water. Whisk in the pudding mix for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set; fold in the whipped topping. Cut cake into 1/2-in. cubes. Spoon a third of the pudding mixture into a 4-qt. trifle or glass bowl. Top with half of the cake cubes and sliced strawberries. Repeat layers once. Top with remaining pudding mixture. Garnish with whole strawberries.

I picked up some okra at the Horton Market on the weekend. I've never tried okra before so I was curious. I found a stir-fried okra recipe on about.com and decided to give it a try. Here is the original recipe: 2 cups fresh okra, washed, trimmed, thinly sliced 1 large tomato, peeled and sliced into 8 thin wedges 1/4 cup green onions, sliced, white and green 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice 1/4 teaspoon leaf thyme, crushed 1 teaspoon salt dash pepper 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 2 tablespoons butter Prepare all vegetables as indicated and have ready for cooking. In a small bowl, combine lemon juice, thyme, salt, and pepper. Heat oil and butter in a wok or large skillet. Add vegetables and seasoning mixture all at once. Toss and cook for 5 to 8 minutes. Serves 4 Now here is what I did: I prepared the okra as directed. I didn't peel the tomato. I used diced red onion. I have all kinds of herbs and spices but couldn't find thyme anywhere. I have a funny feeling ...