Grandma Jean's Carmel Rolls

Our longtime holiday favorite!

18 frozen Rhodes dinner rolls
1/2 c. chopped nuts
1/2 package regular butterscotch pudding ("regular" meaning not instant)
1/4 c. sugar
1-1/2 t. cinnamon
6 T. butter
1/2 c. brown sugar

Spray a Bundt or tube pan with cooking spray. Scatter rolls evenly in pan. Mix nuts, pudding mix, sugar, cinnamon and sprinkle over rolls. Melt butter with brown sugar in microwave and drizzle over rolls.

Cover loosely with foil and let stand overnight. Bake at 350 for 22-25 minutes, let cool for a few minutes, and turn over onto serving plate.

Chocolate Waffles and Clam Dip

No, not together, yukkkkkk!

Good Eats recently showed up on Netflix, so Trevor and I have begun watching the show from way back.  Gosh, Alton is so good.  Yesterday, we watched a show on waffles, and he made chocolate waffles.  I made them for dessert.  They were very easy, although my batter seemed much runnier than on the show.  They also had relatively minimal sugar, which I liked. They freeze--and reheat like any other frozen waffle.  Holly already had another tonight.

Chocolate Waffles

1-1/2 c. flour

3 T. sugar

1/2 c. cocoa powder

1 t. baking powder

1 t. salt

1/2 t. baking soda

3 eggs, beaten

4 T. butter, melted (I misread and used only 2 T.; it was just fine)

1 t. vanilla

16 oz. buttermilk

4 oz. chocolate chips, optional

 

 Preheat waffle iron.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. In another bowl, beat together the eggs, melted butter and vanilla, and then add the buttermilk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir in the chocolate chips just until combined. Allow to rest for 5 minutes.

Ladle the batter onto the center of the iron. Close the iron top and cook until the waffle is crispy on both sides and is easily removed from iron. Serve immediately or keep warm in a 200 degree F oven until ready to serve.

 

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/chocolate-waffle-recipe.html
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I have always loved clam dip.  Trevor loves clam dip. It's a treat when we make it, because we both eat a LOT of it. Eons ago, back to waterskiing summers or so, we used to eat clam dip. I don't remember the recipe, so for the past 20 years or so, I've winged it.  But the internet brings up wonderful and mysterious things, and I found the recipe, or a close facsimile, of long ago.  Be still my heart.

Classic Clam Dip

1 can minced or chopped clams, mostly drained
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temp
1-1/2 t. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 t. minced garlic
2 t. lemon juice
1 t. onion juice (I used dehydrated onion)

I also add 2 T. mayo and 2 T. sour cream.

Blend all ingredients well.  Chill for several hours to let flavors set.

Serves 2. 
(Just kidding about that.)

Fake Coffeemate--or is it real?

I love my coffee, and I especially love it with lots of creamer. Two bad things about creamer:

The ever-increasing price.

All of the nasty ingredients.

I figured I could do at least as well at home.

HOMEMADE CREAMER

14-oz. can of sweetened condensed milk; I use the no fat and pay $1.50 a can at Walmart
1.5 c. skim milk
2 t. vanilla
1/3 c. vanilla flavoring syrup, optional, found in the coffee aisle (adds more not-so-great ingredients though)

Mix all together well. Cover and refrigerate. Stir before using, as the condensed milk will settle on the bottom. Keeps for a week or so.

It might not be much less expensive, but at least it doesn't kill me when my kids use it. And I'm still good with buying the Coffeemate when it goes on a good sale.

We've been cooking

And I'm not talking about heat.

Robert, Trevor, and I keep seeing Cuban Sandwiches pop up. Robert came up with his own variation.

CUBAN SANDWICHES
deli turkey
deli ham
swiss cheese
dill pickle chips
pickled jalapeno slices
homemade garlic mayo*
sub rolls

Put sandwiches together. Spread thin layer of softened margarine or butter on top and bottom sides of roll. Fry in pan on stove over medium low heat, putting another heavy pan on top of sandwich to smoosh the whole thing down (think sandwich press here). When lightly browned, turn sandwich and brown on other side.

*To make homemade garlic mayo: Put 1/2 c. chopped garlic in a bowl. Add 1 T. mayonnaise; let set overnight. Okay, I exaggerated a bit, but the way Robert's been going through garlic, I wouldn't be terribly surprised.

These were delicious. Holly was skeptical but ended up having seconds.
turkey ham garlic mayo mustard swiss pickles jalapenos


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HOMEMADE DONUTS

Robert's long wanted to make donuts, from scratch, in a deep-fryer, the whole nine yards. It did not sound so great to me: hugely messy, hugely greasy, and besides, we don't have a deep fryer. I found this recipe for homemade donuts online, and I surprised everyone by making them before anyone even knew what was going on. From the time I began gathering ingredients to the finished plate of donuts was less than 15 minutes. They were delicious. I am not sure how long they will hold up--but that doesn't matter, who can keep from eating these all right away.

I'm just linking to the recipe. The photos were very helpful to me the first time around.

Amended:  I changed the topping though.  The melted butter turned the granulated sugar into an unappealing goo.  Instead, I made a quick glaze with 1.5 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 t. vanilla, and 1/4 c. water.  (Cinnamon optional; I omitted it.) I dunked the doughnuts in this glaze and let them sit for 5-10 mins. to set.  There was enough glaze to double dunk (or one on each side) one tube of biscuits.  I just love when my family thinks I'm so wonderful to feed them such delicious food!

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From the same cookbook as the donuts above, and my new favorite macaroni and cheese recipe, comes this gem. I was thinking it'd make a cool summer dinner, and while that didn't quite pan out (pun, haha), it was a huge hit. It's also healthy, quick, and made great leftovers.

CHICKEN LETTUCE WRAPS

3 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts--can be cooked/leftovers, or raw
8oz. pkg. of mushrooms, finely chopped
3 green onions, finely chopped
2 cans water chestnuts, finely chopped
3 T. brown sugar
6 T. soy sauce
hoisin sauce
chopped peanuts
rice sticks and oil to cook them in
head of lettuce (iceberg or romaine) to serve them in

If the chicken is not cooked, prepare chicken by sauteeing, poaching, microwaving, etc., and dice into small pieces. Set aside.

Pour a small bit of oil into saute pan and cook mushroom and onion. Add soy sauce and brown sugar, stirring to mix. Add water chestnuts and chicken. Remove from burner when mixture is heated through.

Rice Sticks:

Prepare per package directions. You'll have to pull off a small amount of rice sticks and cook a small amount at a time. They do not cut, tear, or anything else, and if you cook too much at one time, you will have uncooked, inedible noodles in the middle. For a great video, check out the original recipe, and go almost halfway down the page.

To assemble: place a small amount of chicken mixture in center of lettuce leaf. Top with rice sticks, chopped peanuts, and hoisin sauce. Wrap the lettuce around it as well as you can. You'll thank me, I already know.


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Last, but not least, I was looking for a quick and yummy addition to dinner last night and found this homemade bean dip recipe. It's got to be healthy--black beans and a few spices, and I'm totally convinced that tortilla chips count as a whole grain.

HOMEMADE BLACK BEAN DIP / HUMMUS

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 t. apple cider vinegar
2-1/2 t. balsamic vinegar (I'm sure it wouldn't be ruined if you just used 1 T. of either vinegar)
1-1/2 T. ketchup (this was pretty ketchup-y; next time, I'll cut it down to 1 T.)
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. onion powder (I substituted dried minced onion)
1/4 t. chili powder

Combine all in food processor; pulse until creamy. Add water to thin if necessary (I used 1 T.). Serve at room temp.

Recipe - Man Eggs

I found this Alton Brown recipe a few weeks ago. The fact that I'm posting such a simple recipe is a testament to my lack of rudimentary cooking skills. Eggs are kind of like Minute Rice--they've always challenged me.

MAN EGGS

2 eggs
1 t. butter
salt, pepper

Place an 8" nonstick skillet over low heat for 2 minutes. Crack the eggs into a custard cup. Melt the butter in the pan, and once it foams, gently slip in the eggs. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover and cook for 3 minutes for slightly runny yolks, and 5-6 minutes for set yolks. Serve immediately.

My eggs took about 5 minutes, and the yolks were perfectly runny, just the way the men in my family like them. I thought it was a nice change from scrambled; not surprisingly, Holly opted out completely. :D

Recipe - Hash Brown Casserole

Not the healthiest food on the breakfast menu, but this is easy and a kid favorite.

Hash Brown Potatoes

24-32 oz. package of frozen hash brown potatoes, THAWED!
2 T. butter, divided
1 can cream of chicken soup (can sub cream of mushroom)
8 oz. sour cream (I used 4 oz. sour cream, 4 oz. plain yogurt)
1/2 c. chopped onion
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper

Saute onion in 1 T. butter until soft. To make things really easy, when the onions are done, toss in the last T. of butter so it will melt in the residual heat.

In a 3 qt. casserole (or larger, this was a tight fit), combine soup, sour cream, salt and pepper and mix well. Add in onion and cheese, and then toss with potatoes.

Bake covered at 350 for 40 minutes. We prefer it the top a bit crunchy, so I take the cover off for the last 10 mins. or so.

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This is such a flexible recipe. The original called for a 32 oz. bag of potatoes, and a lot more butter. I've switched cream soups, used plain yogurt with the sour cream, and put in different cheeses.

Holly takes on Cinnamon Rolls

One of my brilliant ideas was for Holly and me to make homemade Cinnamon Rolls. I'm talking the yeast, risen-dough, roll out, fill and roll up kind that we used to make in Home Ec (back in the old days where there really was such a class).

I thought it'd be great fun.

Holly had other ideas. While I don't think she was adverse to actually making the rolls, she was not happy with me at all that afternoon and announced her intention to do it herself.

This is similar to the queen deciding to go slum in the kitchen for the afternoon. Except Holly's a princess.

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CINNAMON ROLLS

Dough:
1 (.25 oz.) pkg. active dry yeast
3/4 c. warm water (110 degrees)
1/4 c. white sugar
3/4 t. salt
1 egg
2-1/2 c. flour

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

Add sugar, salt, egg, and 1 c. flour; stir well to combine. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 c. at a time, beating well with each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 mins. Cover with a damp cloth and let rest for 10 mins.

Filling:
1/4 c. butter, softened
1 T. cinnamon
1/2 c. brown sugar
(This is what the recipe calls for, but we'll increase it by 50-100% next time...)

Lightly grease an 8x8" pan. (I'd use something a little bigger next time.) Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface to 1/4" thick rectangle. Smear the dough with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar. Roll up the dough along the long edge until it forms a roll. Slice the roll into 16 equal pieces (use dental floss!) and place them in pan.

Cover pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight OR cover and let rise at room temp until doubled in size, about 45 mins.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake until golden brown, about 20 mins.

VANILLA FROSTING

2 c. powdered sugar
1 T. butter, melted
1 t. vanilla
2-4 T. milk

In a medium bowl, place sugar, butter, and vanilla. Then stir in enough milk to reach a thick, difficult-to-stir consistency. Spread over warm rolls ten minutes after they come out of the oven to let the frosting melt and run into the rolls.
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She did an AWESOME job. The rolls were DELICIOUS. They were supposed to last two days and barely made it until the next morning.

I imagine that Holly was thinking similarly to Cleopatra:

"Fool! Don't you see now that I could have poisoned you a hundred times..."

Yeah, whatever, but at least I would have died happy!

Recipe -- Breakfast Rice

Wow, I tried this today just because I saw it and happened to have leftover brown rice. It was a huge hit with both kids.

BREAKFAST RICE

per serving:
3/4 to 1 cup cooked brown rice
2/3 c. milk
1 T. brown sugar
1/4 t. cinnamon
fresh blueberries, strawberries, or other fruit of your choice

In a small saucepan, combine rice, milk, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Cook on medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until thick and creamy.

Remove from heat, pour into bowl, and serve topped with fruit.

(Recipe originally called for white rice, but my kids were happy with brown, and hey, it's a better choice than white rice anyway.)

Recipe -- Potato and Red Onion Frittata

I found this in Taste of Home magazine recently. I was a little nervous about trying it--I usually think recipes sound much better than they really are. But this was a huge hit. Robert and Trevor asked if I'd make it Christmas morning. Fine, but I'd like to have it sooner than that! And we ate it for dinner, along with rolls and fruit.

Potato and Red Onion Frittata

1 small red onion, chopped
4 T. butter, divided
6 large mushrooms, sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 lb. red potatoes (about 5 small), thinly sliced
6 eggs
1/3 c. milk
1/2 cup shredded Gruyere or Swiss cheese
dash salt and pepper

In a 10-in. ovenproof skillet, saute onion over medium heat in 1 T. butter until tender. Add mushrooms and garlic; cook a few minutes longer until mushrooms are soft. Remove from the pan and set aside.

In the same skillet on medium heat, cook sliced potatoes in 2 T. butter until tender and golden brown. Remove.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and milk. Stir in cheese, and onion mixture. Melt remaining butter in the skillet; tilt pan to evenly coat. Add egg mixture. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes or until nearly set.

Top with potatoes; bake for 3-5 minutes or until eggs are completely set. Let stand for 5 minutes. Cut into wedges. Yield: 4 servings.

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The original recipe did not call for mushrooms; it's easy to add any vegetables of your choice.

Recipe - Belgian Waffles

Many years ago, my sister-in-law gifted me with a Belgian waffle maker. I pull out occasionally, but we really should use it much more than we do. Trevor made a request for chocolate chip waffles the other day. Since we're snowed in and I have nothing else to do, it seemed like a great plan to me.



BELGIAN WAFFLES

2 egg yolks
2 c. milk (I made it buttermilk by adding a little vinegar)
2 c. regular flour (I substituted half wheat flour)
1 T. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/3 c. oil
2 egg whites, stiffly beaten

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients except beaten egg whites. Beat on low until moistened; increase to medium and mix until smooth. By hand, gently fold in beaten egg whites.

Preheat griddle. When ready, pour 1/2 c. batter over grids. Close waffle maker, bake until steam no longer escapes, 3-5 minutes. Serve hot with your favorite topping (I ate mine plain). This recipe made six large waffles for me, and I froze the leftovers.

**To make chocolate chip waffles, add one cup chocolate chips to batter just before folding in egg whites.

**To make blueberry waffles, fold 2 c. fresh (or frozen but not thawed) berries into batter just before folding in egg whites.

Try this Maple Syrup and Banana Sauce topping--it was easy and delicious!

Banana Bread!

I should have posted this recipe ages ago; I've been making it for 20 years or so. Unfortunately, I didn't get a photo; everyone ate it too fast, and I froze the second loaf.

KONA INN BANANA BREAD

2 c. sugar
1 c. soft butter (I used half margarine)
6 ripe bananas, mashed (about 3 c.)
4 eggs
2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
2-1/2 c. cake flour (whatever, I've always used regular flour)

With electric beater, cream together sugar and butter. Add bananas and eggs, beating until well mixed.

Add baking soda, salt, and half of the flour; beat until flour is incorporated. Mix in remaining flour by hand. ***

Grease two loaf pans, taking care to well grease the corners and bottoms. Pour batter evenly into pans, and bake at 350 for 50 minutes until firm in the centers and edges begin to pull away from the sides.

Cool on a rack for 15 minutes before turning out of pans. These freeze wonderfully.

*** I often add in a cup of chopped nuts. If I forget, I add chocolate chips, but these are actually best without. (Imagine me thinking anything is better without chocolate...) The recipe is flexible, and you can be too.

Recipe - French Toast

I know, it seems like a simple thing. But regular "french toast" is too boring; my "fancy" french toast is too soggy. I tried a new recipe a few days ago that must be a real hit: both of my kids liked it a lot!




FRENCH TOAST

2 eggs
1/3 c. milk
1-1/2 T. brown sugar
1/2 t. nutmeg
1-1/2 t. cinnamon
6 slices of bread

Beat eggs in large bowl; add milk, brown sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon, and mix well to combine. Heat lightly oiled skillet to medium high heat. Dunk bread into egg mixture, fry in pan until browned on both sides.

Recipe - Trevor's Coffee Cake Loaf

Okay, so we really got this from Heather at Joyful Wanderings. It looked great, and it looked easy and quick for Trevor to make on Thanksgiving Eve.

COFFEE CAKE LOAF

Cream together:
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 c. sugar

Add, one at a time, beating well:
2 eggs

Combine the following in a separate bowl:
1-1/2 c. flour
1/4 t. salt
1/2 t. baking powder

Add alternately to creamed butter mixture:
flour mixture (from above)
1/2 c. milk

Combine cinnamon mixture in a small bowl:
1 T. cinnamon
1/4 c. sugar

Grease one bread pan. Put half the batter in the bottom of the bread pan, and sprinkle with half of the cinnamon mixture. Top with remaining batter and remaining cinnamon. Bake at 350 for 45 mins. (Ours needed 50-55 mins.) You can easily double the recipe to make two loaves.

It could have been worse

It could have been snowing. But it wasn't.


It was Robert's brand new car. Trevor was sitting right here. They'd JUST parked, Robert was out of the car, and incredibly Trevor wasn't out yet. The driver of the other car backed up quickly, C-RUNCH. Thank you, God, for watching over Trevor and keeping him from opening his door. So it definitely could have been worse.


Robert called me from the parking lot and asked me to bring the camera. I could have been going to the hospital. It definitely could have been worse.

We all went into the mall afterwards. Holly tells me that Aunt Lori was asking her how *I* would have felt if MY mom had followed me around with a camera when I was 12. (Gee, THANKS, Aunt Lori!!) Actually, Holly has been a good sport. At least she didn't hide!

We bought a couple of pretzels, and Robert consoled Trevor at Orange Julius. Trevor was still pretty upset. Even little accidents can be traumatic for adults, and he's just a kid. (I felt like Emily at the mall with my camera, but I did turn off my flash!)

When we came home, Trevor and Robert restocked our woodpile. Again.

Of course, while they worked, I didn't. I walked around with my camera. Just before sunset, everything was bathed in gold.


Two weeks ago, we experimented with Breakfast Burritos for dinner. Oh, they were so good! I made them again last week when Robert worked late, and they were all gone the next morning. I made them again tonight for dinner.

BREAKFAST BURRITOS

Per burrito:
1 potato
1 egg
1/8 lb. chorizo or sausage
cheese
1 tortilla, warm

Peel and dice potatoes; boil until tender. Scramble egg the way you like; I always add a couple of teaspoons of 1/2 and 1/2 for each egg. Fry sausage. Mix all together, and place in tortilla. Top with cheese and anything else you want (sour cream, salsa, etc.). Wrap well. Can wrap in plastic and reheat in microwave.

YUM!

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So, not the best day ever. But it certainly could have been worse.

Wednesday

It was a regular day all around, beginning with our usual blue and cloudless sky. We went above freezing for the first time in several days.

Although I thought the kids would have a full school day, they were done earlier than expected. When talking with Trevor tonight, it appears that the only school subjects he likes are breakfast read alouds (currently The Wonderful Wizard of Oz) and sometimes Shurley English. (Hah, that was a surprise!). I'm sure if I ask him next week, I'll get entirely different answers--in fact, I KNOW I'll get different answers. :)

I asked Holly the same questions later. I'm still in shock that she said her favorite subject is math. Math has never been a consistently wonderful subject here, and I've never been completely happy for long with our math curriculum choices. Holly's disliked math for a long, long time, and I began seeing that our math program was no longer a good fit. With one of those ironies that shows God's sense of humor, I switched her back to Singapore Math, something I'd previously said I'd NEVER use again (and Trevor's been using for almost a year). It's currently working out beautifully, within such a short time, it was obvious to me that she was thinking differently about the problems. Whatever changes we might make down the road, it's great right now.

Earlier this week, Trevor asked when we'd have quiche for dinner--so we had it tonight. This is a recipe from the Goldy Bear Mystery series by Diane Mott Davidson that I've posted about before.


Crustless Jarlsberg Quiche

1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. flour
1-1/2 c. milk (can use fat free)
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2-1/2 c. cottage cheese (I use lo-fat)
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
9 eggs
11 oz. cream cheese, softened (I use the light cream cheese)
3/4 lb. Jarlsberg cheese, grated (I use regular Swiss cheese)
1/3 c. parmesan cheese, freshly grated (not canned)

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat, add the flour, and stir just until mixture bubbles. Slowly add milk, stirring constantly. Stir this cream sauce until it thickens. Set aside to cool.

Stir baking powder, mustard and salt into cottage cheese. Beat eggs well, then beat in softened cream cheese and cottage cheese mixture. Slowly beat in cream sauce, then thoroughly incorporate Jarlsberg and Parmesan. Pour into two buttered 10" pie plates. Bake for about 45 minutes or until puffed and browned. Cool at least 10 mins. before serving. Cut each quiche into eight large wedges.

In the past, I've halved the recipe (click link), and it's been enough for the four of us. But after tonight, I'll start making two quiches again. They go fast, and any leftovers heat up very well the next day.

We also had my favorite salad, greens with fresh mozzarella (totally different than the regular stuff!), tomatoes, pine nuts, and Paul Newman's Balsamic Vinaigrette. His salad dressing is the best! The kids had orange slices and bread sticks too.

Nothing new around here, but that's certainly not a bad thing!