Posted on 10/15/2011 9:39:16 AM PDT by libertarian27
Welcome to the 45th installment of the FR Weekly Cooking (Recipes) Thread.
Looking for something new to make or made something new that came out great? Please share a 'tried-and-true' recipe or five- for fellow FReepers to add to their 'go-to' Recipe Stack of Family Favorites!
Here's the place to share and explore your latest and greatest favorite recipe.
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(On Dec 10th I'll be posting a thread with all recipes for this past year - 52 weeks of recipes - as a sort of online Cook Book. The recipes will be sorted by type and referenced to the week that it was posted. If you have a recipe you'd like to get onto the "Free Republic Cooks Cookbook" Post for this year, get 'em in now - 2 months to go :>)
Thank you for the ideas. My youngest daughter is now in her second year of high school so my children want more sophisticated after school snacks these days. I will remember those ideas for when I have grandchildren, but so far none of my children or my stepson who is 30 years old already are married, so there are no grandchildren on my horizon for a few years yet.
I have some great nieces and nephews that would like them though, so I wil tell their mom’s and grandmom’s your ideas as they would love them.
Our family has been doing that with lebanon bologna for years, sans pickle. I think I will add the pickle though - sounds really good!
No one knows. It could be disease or the BP oil spill. I suspect it’s because of the record high temperatures. In Texas, we had something like 100 days straight of 100+ temperatures. I’m sure that heated up the waters in the Gulf which may have sent some fish to new breeding grounds or upset their lifecycle somehow. Louisiana and Mississippi shrimping is also down.
The little bags of small frozen shrimp have gone up a dollar recently at my store.
;)
Here’s my first contribution to the weekly thread -
Cream soup base - this started out for broccoli cheddar but it works beautifully for just about any cream soup style veg. Adjust type and amount of veg at will, but this is the basic base -
One half onion
Celery (optional)
1 pint heavy cream
1/4 c flour
3 c chicken stock or bouillon
Veg of choice
About 4 T butter or marg
Dice onion, saute til translucent in 2 T butter (I throw in some diced celery or garlic if I have some, garlic powder if I don’t).
In separate stockpot, make roux with about 1/4 c flour and 2 T butter. Add one pint heavy cream, heat until rolling (but careful not to boil over). At the same time, heat chicken stock or bouillon in saucepan. Add to stock pot and heat again to low boil. Add vegetables (incl onion) and cook on med-low til soft. Salt & pepper to taste.
Now here’s where it gets preferential. Originally I would use a head of steamed fresh broc, or one 10 oz box of broc, plus about a cup of shredded carrots. When that is cooked, puree about half the soup in food processor, heat through again, and add about a cup of cheddar cheese.
The recipe also makes amazing asparagus soup - cut one bunch into pieces, cook the asparagus in the soup to desired consistency, add the sauteed onion too, again puree half the batch, and the result is an unbelievably buttery cream of asparagus.
I’ve also done it with mushrooms, cauliflower, and recently made a batch with chicken, spinach and potatoes. It’s very versatile, and if you don’t want all the fat from the cream, use half & half, although in that case I’d probably reduce the chicken stock. And throw in whatever herb sounds good.
It’s become a favorite around here and I get to be Queen of Soup. :)
1 1/2 onions, chopped
5 lbs 80/20 ground beef
1 pint Tomato Juice
3 garlic cloves
3/8 cup paprika
3/8 cup chili powder
Saute onions and garlic till tender(oil or lard). Combine all ingredients except chili powder. Put in large rectangular baking pan and bake for 3 hrs @ 325 degree oven. Add the chili powder and cook for 20 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool for a while, then put into refrigerator. When cold and firm cut into “bricks” of what ever size is best for your family. Wrap them in freezer wrap and put in the freezer. They can provide a quick meal.
Chili dogs, Frito pie, several styles of chili.
1. Heat the chili in microwave, crock-pot or on stove top at low heat. Combine 1/2 cup drained pinto beans heated or freshly cooked (homemade is best) and 1/2 cup chili. Garnish with onions and cheese (optional). I like to add black pepper to the recipes below.
2. Crock pot chili: Combine one can diced tomatoes, one can chili beans, a brick of chili. Put this on low in the morning for supper. Or cook on high for about 2 hours. I like to add sauteed green peppers during the last 30 minutes.
This can also be cooked on the stove stop too.
3. Heat up a brick of chili. Cook and drain angel hair pasta. Top pasta with chili and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Serve with salad and garlic bread.
4. Tacos: Heat up a brick of chili, add a packet of taco seasoning. Heat up crunchy taco shells. Fill with chili, lettuce, shredded cheese and top with taco sauce.
5. Taco salad: Put the mixture of chili and taco seasoning on top of shredded lettuce. Top with shredded cheese, olives, and a dollop of sour cream and taco sauce to taste. Serve with tostidos and french bread and butter.
That’s great!
Cream of Cream Soup!
Two nights ago I was gabbing recipes with friends and I was talking about my many uses of good ‘ole cream of mushroom soup and they HATE mushrooms and cringed (I don’t know why I am friends with people who hate mushrooms - lol)
So, anyways.....I thought...how come a company doesn’t make “Cream of Cream” soup as a base for recipes?
And here... your timely recipe is posted! Thank you!
Have you ever tried peanut butter in your chili? I use 96/4 Ground round to make my chili, so the added ‘fat’ in the peanut butter is a nice addition, only in the individual servings of course, since some don’t like adding to my chili.
Add a nice sharp Swiss cheese to that little sandwich and you got me drooling.
A great and easy appetizer.
Spread cream cheese on a tortilla and sprinkle with diced jalapeños.
Place on a griddle until just crispy.
Roll the tortilla and serve with blue cheese dressing.
This sounds so good, I might make it for the family for Halloween. Thanks.
Probably a combination of both the spill and the warmer water. 80% less is a lot though. :/
Foolproof Bundt Cake
1 Yellow Cake mix with pudding in the mix
3/4 C cooking oil
3/4 C sherry
4 eggs
1 T nutmeg(probably use a little less if you grate your own)
Use cooking spray or grease and flour your bundt pan and bake @ 350* for 45 minutes. After it cools, dust with a little powdered sugar if you want.
or...
1 Chocolate cake mix with pudding in the mix
3/4 C cooking oil
3/4 C coffee liquor, Kahlua or cold coffee
4 eggs
or...
Use another kind of cake mix like Lemon, Orange or Strawberry and put whatever liquid you think would go with it. Lemon vodka, coconut rum, almond or chocolate liquor might be nice additions...
This recipe is so easy, never fails and folks love it! I used to take these to the office and usually never had leftovers.
I am just now reading the thread - are these good at room temp? My elderly mom is going to a potluck dinner soon and this is something simple she could make.
Yes they are. And they are quite easy to make, too. Make sure they are very well drained and dried off so they don’t get soggy inside as they sit. I hope she and her friends enjoy them.
Thx - I will show her this recipe!
Adorable and creative Halloween snacks!
The highlight of our neighborhood at Halloween was the house that gave out big popcorn balls wrapped in cellophane. I always ate mine right away as I walked along to other houses. (I know; it was a different time.)
Anyone have a great popcorn ball recipe? I’d like to relive some happy memories.
This is one my mom used to make...
Old-Fashioned Popcorn Balls
Always a favorite• 8 cups popped JOLLY TIME® Blast O Butter or Butter Licious Microwave Pop Corn
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup light or dark corn syrup
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla
Here’s How:
Keep popped popcorn warm in 200F oven while preparing syrup. In 2-quart saucepan, stir together sugar, corn syrup, water, butter and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Continue cooking without stirring until temperature reaches 270F on a candy thermometer or until a small amount of syrup dropped into very cold water separates into threads, which are hard but not brittle. Remove from heat. Add vanilla; stir just enough to mix through hot syrup. Slowly pour over popcorn, stirring to coat every kernel. Cool just enough to handle. Shape into balls, using buttered hands. Cool on foil or buttered wax paper. Wrap in plastic wrap; tie with a ribbon.
Yield: 12 medium popcorn balls
For the cranberry lovers (and those who want to eat the “super foods”):
Broccoli Cranberry Slaw
8 servings
Ingredients:
12 oz. package of broccoli coleslaw mix
3 oz. package dried cranberries
6 green onions cut into half inch pieces
a quarter cup of coleslaw salad dressing
Combine coleslaw mix, cranberries, and onions in a large bowl. Add dressing and toss to coat. Refrigerate until serving.
Another fun Halloween idea is Spaghetti and eyeball meatballs, served with severed fingers. For dessert I served spiderweb brownies. I used to fix this for my family when they were little.
I fixed this for fun for my family last year for our dinner on Halloween. My family got a kick out of it, even if they are all grown up. They did tease me and tell me that they weren’t in elementary school any more! LOL!
While looking over my shoulder while I was reading this thread yesterday, my oldest daughter said I should post the idea on the thread and asked if I would please make this meal for dinner on Halloween again this year!
Halloween Dinner
I just use my regular meatball recipe and push a stuffed green olive into each meatball with the open side sticking out before cooking them up. Serve with spaghetti noodles and your favorite spaghetti sauce.
For the severed fingers I use a can of Pillsbury breadsticks. I roll each breadstick into the shape of a finger and brush them with olive oil and a light sprinkling of garlic powder (or use garlic infused olive oil). Add a slivered almond at one end for the fingernail. For the other end, add red food coloring to a beaten egg and paint the other end to make it look a little bloody. Drips make them look even better, so you don’t have to even be neat about it. Then bake the breadstick fingers until lightly browned. For a party you can skip this last step and just serve them sticking up out of a shallow dish of your favorite Marinara Sauce.
For the spiderweb brownie, make your favorite brownie. (I like to use my round spring form pan, but you could really use any shape pan.) Then draw the spiderweb on top using either white frosting or melted white chocolate with a piping bag or a zip lock bag with the corner clipped off. For the spider on the brownie use any dome shaped chocolate candy for the body and thin cut pieces of black licorice for the eight spider legs.
This time of year I also make a lot of hot spiced apple cider. I usually set it up in my crock pot. I use a half gallon of apple cider, throw in 2 cinnamon sticks, 5 whole cloves and a piece of lemon rind. I heat it up on high until the cider is hot and then reduce the heat to low to keep it warm so it is ready whenever someone wants a cup to warm them up.
For a quick fix method fill a cup with apple cider and throw in a pinch of pumpkin pie spice and warm it up in the microwave.
Either way is delicious!
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