Cooking - for a new lifestyle (Our Test Kitchen)

I had this meal at Denny's in London recently.  It is part of their Hobbit themed menu.  Everything was great but the french-toasted honey cake was amazing. On a recent cookie run to Hollandia Bakery I spotted honey cake and bought one. Here is the recipe I came up with.  Dear hubby LOVED it.  It is very sweet obviously but sooooooo good. 1 cup milk 3 large eggs 2 tablespoons honey 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 honey cake, sliced into 8-10 slices 4 tablespoons butter In medium size mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, honey and salt.  Pour the egg mixture into a pie pan.  Preheat the oven to 375 F. Dip the cake slices into the egg mixture, allow to soak for 30 seconds on each side.  Over medium-low heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a 10-inch nonstick saute pan. Place 2-3 slices of cake at a time into the pan and cook until golden brown, approximately 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove from pan and place on rack in oven for 5 minutes. Repeat with ...

I haven't made this recipe in years until my sister-in-law asked me to make it for her open house on Christmas Eve.  I had forgotten just how good it is. 1 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts, drained and chopped 1 cup mayonnaise 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1 clove garlic, finely chopped Preheat oven to 350F. Combine all ingredients in 1-quart casserole.  Bake uncovered 25 minutes or until heated through.  Serve with your favourite dippers. Enjoy.

This month's recipe swap was to use ginger. Since I have to work during that time of deliciousness, I baked these up ahead of time. Ingredients 1 cup of white sugar 1 egg 1/4 tsp salt 3/4 cup shortening 2 cups all purpose flour 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp ground clove 1 tsp ground ginger 1 tsp ground cinnamon Directions Preheat oven 350F. Cream together sugar, egg, salt and shortening. Add flour, baking powder and spices. Mix together. Roll mixture into balls and then roll in white sugar. Place on cookie sheet and bake for 9 1/2mins. (Originally recipe calls for 5-6 but they came out too soft) Remove and then press with fork before placing on cooling rack. Makes between 2-3 dozen.

With boredom, often comes baking. At least for me. One of my friends from school suggested making a pie for her. Pies don't travel well to the states but cookies do. Thinking back to one of the improv nights, I looked into it and managed to find this recipe. It is easy enough and I lucked out and already had everything at home. Ingredients. 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/8 tsp salt 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp ground ginger 1/2 cup butter, room temperature 3/4 cup brown sugar 1 large egg 2 tbsp maple syrup 1 1/4 cups diced fresh apples (2 medium) 3/4 cup chopped walnuts Directions Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and maple syrup. With the mixer on low speed, gradually blend in the flour mixture. Once all flour has been...

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, I am trying to increase the number of veggies we are eating and proportionately decrease the total amount of meat John and Judy eat. We are all very good eaters and I do not doubt they are actually hungry when they sit down, but John's inclination is potatoes and meat and bread. Judy is learning this bad habit. So any chance I get, I "hide" extra veggies in recipes. So if the recipe says 2 cups carrot diced, I will add 1 1/2 of carrot and 1 1/2 of parsnip! also, finely chopped spinach looks like a seasoning! I have completely omitted salt from any recipe as John adds salt and pepper before he even tastes a dish. I am encouraging them to give me feedback BEFORE they eat now, how does it smell?, taste before seasoning, and comment during dinner so I can pass it on to you fellow recipiers . (yes Staci, I made that word up, hahahaha) Prep time is fast as there is placing in crock pot and letting it do the work ! 3 cups carrot ( I used 2 of carrot and 2 of parsn...

What do you do with leftover orange marmalade the last recipe called for???? Well I have one! In a frying pan: 2 tbsp olive oil 1 1/2 lbs of pork cut into 1" cubes Brown meat and transfer to a crock pot. In the used frying pan: 2 cups chicken broth 1/2 cup red wine or another 1/2 cup broth 1/4 cup orange marmalade (I used a small can of drained mandarin oranges that I processed in a food processor) Stir well and pour over meat in crock pot. Add: 1 large can diced tomatoes WITH juices 1 large green pepper diced large 2 cups frozen beans or stir fry blend 2 minced garlic cloves 1 tsp oregano 1/2 tsp fennel seed (omitted) 1 tsp black pepper 1/8 tsp chilli flakes Stir well. Refrigerate if you want for next meal. OR Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours. (I cooked on high 4-6) ***Uncover 1/2 way through if there seems to be a lot of liquid. Combine: 2 tbsp cornstach 2 tbsp cold water Stir until smooth and add gradually to stew to thicken....