Cooking - for a new lifestyle (Our Test Kitchen)

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

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 ...

1 large cheap pork roast.....a good one does not shred as easy. Boil your roast, this will remove some of the salt and then roast in the oven at 350 for 2 hours with 2 cups of water (for moisture). Pull roast out of oven and let cool to be able to handle by hand. Remove any visible fat, and then with a fork shred the meat off the roast. Place into a crock pot. Add onion, peppers, pineapple, S&P, and 1 bottle of your favourite BBQ sauce. Fill the bottle with water and add to the crock pot too. Stir well, if you feel it is still too thick, add another bottle of water or tomato juice. You can add more spices or chilli's if you'd like. Cook at high for 3 hours. Stirring occaionally. Serve on buns, with a salad. This is lovely at backyard parties. Easy and filling. "Bon Appetit!"

My adaptation. In a large pot bring to a boil: I diced green pepper 1/2 bunch of celery ~large chunks 1 onion ~sliced 1 can tomato juice/vegetable cocktail 1 can diced tomatoes pepper chilli flakes to taste Bring to a good boil and let rest. Add some fresh basil. If this step can be done the day before the flavours intensify. In a large stock pot bring 8 cups water, to a boil with: 5 potatoes ~peeled and cubed 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs ~ cut each into 3 strips 1 bag mini carrots 1/4 bunch of celery ~chopped lots of pepper Cook until potatoes are JUST cooked and drain (reserve liquid for soup stock in another recipe). In a large casserole (or crock pot), pour 1/2 of tomato mixture. Pour potato/chicken mixture on top and finish with the rest of the tomato mixture. Bake at 300 for 1 hour covered. Top with your favourite cheese and broil until cheese is melted. Serve with warm bread on a cold day. "Bon Appetit!"

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!"

I love this recipe because it is sooooo easy. In a large pot: 1 whole green pepper 1 whole onion 1/2 bag mini carrots 4 stalks celery s&p 8 cups water boullion cubes or chicken soup mix Bring to a boil. Puree veggies with soup using an emulsion blender (or blend this after it cools down in a blender), making a slightly thicker soup base. (you can hide lots of veggies in there!) Put back into large pot. Add 4 tbsp of curry powder if you want. If someone doesn't like curry, sprinkle on individual bowls at serving time. Add cooked chicken (boneless/skinless) or leftover chicken/turkey....I plan to try this with sausage removed from the casings and fried up too. Bring to a boil. Add 3 cups of rice to pot. Stir until rice is edible.....THIS WILL HAPPEN! the soup part disappears! I just keep adding water. LOL This dish reheats well in the microwave and warms tummies when it is cold. "Bon Appetit!"

So everyone has been there. You open the fridge after Thanksgiving or Christmas and find all the bits no one has finished off. This is what I did. 1 cup of gravy or whatever is left over 1 cup parsnips/turnip/carrots 1/2 cup cream/regular corn 1/2 onion 4-6 cups of mashed potatoes 4-6 cups of liquid water/broth/consomme (equal to the amount of potato)OR milk for creamier S&P Now I put everything in the pot on med heat and mashed together (I used a emulsion mixer)be careful if you have used milk as it burns easier! i mixed in: 1/2 head of par cooked cauliflower florets or brocolli florets 1 cup of peas and 2 cups of ham cubes or turkey cubes Stir and pour into a crock pot. Now take the leftover stuffing (if there is any) and cut into cubes. About the size of croutons! Place on a cookie sheet and bake until crispy. Serve your turkey day croutons with your cream of leftovers soup! "Bon Appetit!"

This recipe appealed to Judy who is currently on a squash kick, but not being a big squash fan, Ididn't expect much. This was lovely. She loved it even more than the squash I stuffed with marshmallows a couple weeks ago! I will give you the easy way and at the end, give you a quick "presentation" idea we did. So peel and seed the squash (we used a butternut but the recipe actually called for acorn). Dice and boil cubes. Drain squash and mash. Now for each squash you have used add: 3 tbsp of brown sugar 1 tbsp butter/margarine 1/2 tsp grated orange rind 3 tbsp orange juice Mash and bake in oven at 350. Top with toasted nuts (they called for pecans, I used almonds....whatever) What we did was hollow out the Squash and used the shell as a serving dish. It looked lovely on the table. "Bon Appetit!"

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!"

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!"

I found this recipe and it is SOOOOOO simple and although it is not asthetically, the most beautiful dish, it tastes really, really good! Boil 3 chicken pieces (I used chicken breasts)thoroughly, and leave to cool. In a pot: 1/4 cup margarine 1 cup of shredded carrot OR 1 cup frozen veggies soften veggies but do not brown. Reduce heat then add: 2 tsp chicken boullion/soup mix 1/4 cup flour optional: 1/2 diced onion stir well till mixture resembles playdoh. Then add 2 cups milk, stir well and often! Bring almost to a boil , then add chicken and 1 cup of the water it was boiled in. Mix together well and stir from the bottom to avoid burning the recipe. Pour mixture into a crock pot on med/low and cook for another 4-6 hours. Serve over tea biscuits or popover rolls or with mashed potatoes! YUMMMMMM! "Bon Appetit!"

I made this last week and left it almost done in a crock pot. Judy's friend HATES veggies, and she ate this last night. Here is what I did. In a large pot: 1 potato diced 1 onion large chunks 1/4 green pepper 2 stalks celery 1/4 cup brick margarine 2 cups water 2 tbsp beef soup mix powder S&P brocolli stems large chunks Boil this concoction well and when brocolli stems are soft, puree the whole pot, liquid and all. Add 2 cups milk 2 heads of brocolli florettes Mix well and pour into a crock pot. Put into refrigerator until ready to use. When ready to cook, add 1 cup milk and stir in well. I let this cook for 8 hour on low. Serve with shredded cheese. "Bon Appetit!"