Chocolate Waffles

Kev found this recipe in Joy of Cooking. He made a wonderful Saturday morning brunch! The vanilla frozen yogurt on top was the perfect garnish. Just be sure and have Pam on hand to spray the waffle iron before each batch.

Whisk together in a big bowl:

1, 1/2 cup flour
1, 1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup baking cocoa
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Whisk in a medium bowl until frothy:

2 eggs

Add to the eggs:

1 cup milk
3/4 cup plus 2 T vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla

Add wet ingredients to the dry and combine quickly.

Empinadas

I tried empinadas for the first time at a festival in the park over the summer. I played improve in the kitchen last night and came up with this fantastic recipe! This filling makes a lot! I only used half of it. I put the rest in a freezer bag and threw in the freezer. You could choose to double the dough recipe if you want to make a lot more! Using this dough recipe, as is, I was able to make 24 empinadas.

Filling

Brown the following together. Then drain:

1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped

In a mixing bowl dump:

cooked meat mixture
1 small can chopped olives
3 T Cilantro, chopped
1, 1/2 cups cheddar cheese
1 packet taco season

Dough

Cut shortening into flour until crumbly:

2 cups flour (I used 1 T wheat and 1 T oat flour)
1 cup shortening

slowly add water while fluffing with a fork:

1/2 cup water

Roll dough out until really thin. Cut circles out with buiscut cutter or ring off a quart jar. Spoon a tablespoon of filling onto the circle.

Fold the circle in half and pinch the top. Then pinch the sides together. It took a couple of these to figure how not to lose my filling. :)

Place the crescent moon shaped empinadas onto a cookie sheet and brush with a mixture of:

1 egg yolk
1 T milk

Bake at 400 for 25 minutes.

Serve with cilantro lime rice and refried beans.

Macaroni and Cheese- Adult Style

Bonus: This only dirties on pot!! This macaroni and cheese came from years of searching for just the right one. I sprinkle red pepper flakes on mine. The kids, of course, don't like the red pepper. I love my mom's mac-n-cheese, but I was always burning the cheese or curdling the flour in the rou.

In a large pot fill with water. Boil for about 9 minutes:

2 cups macaroni (I used 1 cup regular macaroni, & 1 cup wheat macaroni)

Drain the cooked macaroni and return to pot. Make sure the stove in set on low heat. Add:

1/4 cup butter, cut up

After the butter is well coated on macaroni, add:

12 oz evaporated milk
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp salt

Stir and babysit the pot for about 10 minutes. Then take the pot off the stove and add:

3 cups cheddar cheese.

Stroganoff

This recipe came from my Mother-in-law. It is quick for those days you know you'll be at the dentist or have places to be. Put this in the crockpot for at least 10 hours. I tried once to put the crockpot on high and cook it for 6 hours. The meat was way too tough. This is a long low process :)

In your crock pot dump:

1 lb round eye steak, cut up
1 can cream of mushroom
1 package Lipton onion soup mix
1/2 cup sour cream

After ten hours serve over cooked egg noodles or rice.

Spinach Berry Smoothie

We eat a LOT of home-baked goods around here. I decided that we needed to have more fruit in our diets. We eat lots of vegies, but I don't buy fruit. I hate the texture of fruit on my teeth, and it always tastes too tart. I experimented a bit and came up with this yummy treat.

In a blender dump and blend:

6 ice cubes
1, 1/2 cup milk
1 cup strawberry yogurt
1 cup frozen peaches
1 cup frozen berry mix (strawberries, blueberries, rasp)
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup baby spinach

If you want a healthier version you could omit the sugar. I don't dare! If you are brave and try it, let me know how it tastes! Also, you could try plain yogurt instead of flavored yogurt. :)


My kids loved this!

Multi-grain Pumpkin Muffins- revisited

Our family has been living off of these muffins for weeks now. Each time I make them a little different. I have been trying to see just how much grain I can get away with and how little sugar. I just made these muffins in the above picture with 1/2 the sugar than before and twice the oats. Here is a healthier muffin. Which do you like best?! This makes 2 dozen muffins

In a large bowl whisk:

1 cup pumpkin
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1/3 cup shortening
1/2 cup brown sugar

Now add and mix:

1/2 cup white flour
1/2 cup wheat flour
1 T baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ginger

Now add and mix:

*1 cup oat flour
chocolate chips

Bake at 400 for 20-22 minutes. I like to use muffin sleeves for fast clean up.

*oat flour is really the easiest grain to fix up. Just throw some rolled oats in a food processor for a minute!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Fall is my favorite season for soup! This is also a great meal to serve vegetarian friends or if your a vegie yourself :) In the picture I didn't have celery or carrots to work with. But the soup still turned out great.

Boil for 15 minutes:

1 cup carrots, cut

Remove carrots and set aside. Bring fresh water to a boil and blanch broccoli for 3 minutes. Drain and set aside broccoli. You may need to cook this in batches depending on the size of your pot:

3-4 large bunches broccoli

In a very large soup pot saute for about 5 minutes:

4 T butter
1/2 cup onion
1/2 cup celery
Add and whisk for about 30 seconds:

1/3 cup flour

Add very slowly and whisk over medium heat until thick. About 10-15 minutes. Stir often:

4 cups milk
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper


When the milk is thickened remove from heat. You do not want to add the cheese while the stove is still hot. It will curdle your soup. Add:

4 cups cheddar cheese. (Tillamook!!)
drained broccoli, and drained carrots

Serve warm!