Recipes for avid readers/busy writers

OK, you guys make me sound like Betty Homemaker here!

~Sarah~

— Sarah Hoss     Wed, 04/01/2009 - 2:53am

Oh, Sarah, that sounds awesome! I'll definitely try that one too!! I'm all about the simple. If there's a way for me to mess something up in the kitchen, I will. I was talking recipes with my girlfriends on vacation, and one of them says she does a soup/salad/corn bread dinner once a week. I always forget the soup option...she swears by the Campbell's Mexican chicken. I wonder if that'll fly with my kids...

— veronica     Sun, 04/05/2009 - 8:01pm

I made the EASIEST dinner last night. And it was actually good! I was so proud!! (And Adam so shocked...!) :) Anyway, I got a pack of wild-caught frozen salmon at Costco (does that type of thing just horrify you, Pam?!) It's affordable and surprisingly good--really! I put the frozen fish in water with a quarter cup of sugar and a quarter cup of salt to brine in the fridge all day (Adam's suggestion.) It was defrosted by the end of the day. I sprayed a little Pam in a Teflon pan (or maybe it was olive oil?), got the pan hot, and fried those bad boys up. I added a bit of pepper as they were frying, but the brining made salt unnecessary. The whole thing took less than 10 minutes total!! I had a side of peas from a stash of surprisingly tasty frozen organic ones, and one of those flavored long-grain rices, and it was deeeelish! Tonight, though? Frozen pizza. Sigh. A girl can only pull so much magic out of her...er...thin air.

— veronica     Tue, 04/14/2009 - 5:38pm

You're my heroine, Sarah! I've always wanted to make preserves--or rather, my grandfather used to make the BEST pickles, and I inherited his recipe and have dreamt of making them, but have never been brave enough to try. I'm terrified I'll give everyone Botulism... Ha! What do you grow in your garden? We moved last summer, and my current garden is, well, nonexistent. Though I used to love to grow spinach and lettuce, and best of all, the kids LOVED eating it.

— veronica     Wed, 04/15/2009 - 9:11am

Dear Sarah:
Will you adopt me? and show me how to do all this stuff like canning and making gardens?
When Robert was a baby, I thought I'd be all mother-earth and make his baby food. I decided to start with applesauce, so I went to the orchard and got a bushel, then prepared the apples. I ended up with something like a gallon of the stuff, of which Robert had exactly one tablespoon and then promptly spat it out. "Screw it", I thought. "Where the Gerbers?"
Baking is a differnt story - love to bake, and tend to get obnoxious at christmas time. Oh, and I make awesome soups. But that's it for my culinary triumphs.
Veronica, would it surprize YOU to know that I ABHOR any kind of fish whatsoever?? lol!! I throw back everything I catch (unless someone else wants some...there's a homeless guy who lives under the bridge in town...I usually keep one or two for him), and if Pete gets a hankering for sushi, he's on his own. (I bought him a sushi-making kit last x-mas and he's Mr. Sushi chef now!!) Still, sounds like you had a good meal!

Quick Roast Potatoes that go with everything:

Buy either the baby reds or baby yukon golds. Also buy the Herb Chicken Seasoning (McCormick's, I think) in the spice aisle. Pre-heat oven to 375. Par-boil the potatoes until slightly soft, then drain. drizzle olive oil over potatoes, then liberally sprinkle seasoning and toss to coat completely. Pour everything into a small roasting pan and roast for about 45 minutes, shaking the pan every so often to baste tats w/ oil and seasonings. Outside skins will be browned and crisp, but insides nice and mushy. Really yummy!

ok - off to fish today...anyone want any fresh trout?

— pammerjo     Fri, 04/17/2009 - 6:50am

Oh, yuk, no trout. BUt I am going to try your recipe on Sunday and I will let you know how it turns out!
~Sarah~

— Sarah Hoss     Fri, 04/17/2009 - 9:08am

pssst! Veronica! Sarah makes her own noodles. Pass it on.
-Pam

You guys are too funny. I'm so not crafty. I do needlepoint, but get very bored, very quickly. I can arrange flowers pretty nicely...but i can't - you know - MAKE anything.

— pammerjo     Fri, 04/17/2009 - 4:24pm

ohmygosh, Sarah, your own noodles?! That IS advanced! :) I've always wanted to paint--my grandmother and mom used to do a ton of painting. I even bought an easel and the whole set-up, which is waiting patiently, gathering dust in our garage. Sigh.

— veronica     Sat, 04/18/2009 - 9:48pm

OK, here is a recipe for noodles....ENJOY!

2/3 c flour
1 egg beaten
1/2 t salt

Beat eggs, salt, and flour to until you get a stiff dough. Knead on floured board 3 to 4 minutes. Roll into a very thin sheet. Cover with towel and let stand 20 minutes. Cut into 3 in. wide slabs and stack them. Then cut the noodles into the desired width. Lay them out to dry.
* This did not come with any hint as to how many people it would feed. My mother told me to double it and I have 5 in my family. The 3 people I asked about this all said that they never use a recipe, they just make it. IT depends on how much you want.
** You can bag noodles and freeze them. That way if you don't want to do this all of the time, you can do one large amount at one time.
*** Here is an old wives tale for you. Things do not bake as well on rainy days. Noodles will take a lot longer to dry so always make on a sunny day.

I hope you try this and I hope it works and you enjoy it!

~Sarah~

— Sarah Hoss     Sun, 04/19/2009 - 12:02pm

what kind of flour are you using for the noodles, sarah? semolina?

— pammerjo     Mon, 04/20/2009 - 8:18am

Ha! Love it!!! (Says she who does all the plumbing in our house. Seriously. I can't cook my way out of a paper bag, but I can dismantle sink pipes and put 'em back together again...)

Now to those noodles...how long do you boil them for?? (Yes, I'm too lame to figure this out for myself. Plus I can be a scatterbrain. If I don't set a timer, I waltz back into the kitchen thirty minutes later to a burning pot...)

— veronica     Mon, 04/20/2009 - 9:37am

OK, here is onr to make you laugh. I CAN NOT make gravy. No matter how hard I try, can't do it. I always over correct and end up with a huge pan of nothing. Andy makes our gravy if we have sausage, biscuits and gravy. If he wants it for potatoes or something, I buy a can. LOL!!

~Sarah~

— Sarah Hoss     Mon, 04/20/2009 - 10:44am

completely off the subject, but i'll tell ya - getting divorced and being on a financial short leash is the Outward Bound of home repair. I never hung a picture prior to my divorce...now I plumb, do electrical, hang drywall (I finished my own basement, completely w/ solid ceiling and recessed lighting) and change my own oil. I felt very empowered in that first year!! lol.

No honey - you weren't having a blonde moment...semolina is made from duram wheat and is typically the flour used for making pasta, which gives it that rich, buttery color. easier to cook al dente ("to the tooth") than regular flour.

— pammerjo     Mon, 04/20/2009 - 1:37pm

You know, the kitchen sink isn't that hard! Our last house had a crummy disposal that was constantly getting backed up. I got sick of paying $75 a pop for the plumber to come in, do his thing, and be back out the door in 10 minutes, so I finally just asked him to show me what he did. It's super simple, with the right tool. Unlike chicken, which, I dunno, I must be missing a food-prep gene or something, but for me something like making homemade chicken soup falls somewhere between "playing the banjo" and "rotating tires" on my list of things I'll likely excel at in my life. (insert gusty sigh here.)

— veronica     Wed, 04/22/2009 - 1:22pm

LOL! Now we just need to join forces, and between the three of us (drywall is also beyond my ken), we'd be the perfect woman!!

— veronica     Wed, 04/22/2009 - 5:12pm

Now, see, if you had said you could play the najo, I would have bowed at your feet, but as it is...... (LMAO)

~Sarah~

— Sarah Hoss     Thu, 04/23/2009 - 4:53am

My hubby just made sausage, biscuits and gravy for dinner! Boy can that man cook! (Am ashamed to say he has to be the one to do it becasue I can not make gravy. I will hang my head now. :(

~Sarah~

— Sarah Hoss     Thu, 05/14/2009 - 3:04pm

Well, you are right, though I would rather he make it because he wants to and not because of my inadequacy. Though it was so good, I patted his back!!!

~Sarah~

— Sarah Hoss     Sun, 05/17/2009 - 12:33pm

ok - check THIS action out:
so my Dr. put me on some new meds which completely flipped me out - could not sleep and was eating like no tomorrow. Saturday am I was WIDE AWAKE at 5 CRAVING pizza. had an old frozen one which simply didn't cut it. it had to be a thin crust margherita.

I made the dough. yes. I DID. went to the store (7 am, hysterical, hair askew, coverd in flour dust "WHERE'S THE BUFFALO MOZZARELLA?????????????!!!!!" Got the stuff for the sauce, cheese and freah basil. Came home and made a gash darn margherita pizza FROM SCRATCH. WHAT?

Here's the recipe http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/perfect-pizza-margherita It is pretty time consuming and takes some patience but the end result, a rather lop-sided wodge,(getting prepared uncooked pizza from surface to heated pizza stone was a challenge) was scrummy, proving my point that it is absolutely impossible to prepare badly that which you love, even if you've never done it before. Pete's away for the next 10 days...i may have to make it again.

— pammerjo     Thu, 11/12/2009 - 9:42pm

You are welcome. My kids help out alot! Your's will love it, enjoy! Sounds good pam. I odn't know if I have heard of buffalo mozzerella here though.

~Sarah~

— Sarah Hoss     Fri, 11/13/2009 - 12:57pm

I don't mind making things from scratch. There is something rewarding about it.

~Sarah~

— Sarah Hoss     Sat, 11/14/2009 - 6:40am

HA! You and me both, Kiltie!!

— veronica     Mon, 11/16/2009 - 7:43am

Hi, Ladies! Two easy recipes for you :

Comfort food from Gran herself : )

Gran's Mac & Cheese

Boil 16oz elbow macaroni in large pan of salted water until slightly undercooked. Drain pasta quickly so that it will not continue to cook in hot water. Butter a 13in by 9in baking pan. Layer pasta with at least 16oz grated sharp cheddar cheese (sharper the better). Feel free to be very cheesey! Pour one pint of half-and-half or heavy cream over pasta and cheese. Add some whole milk if needed to bring liquid to top of pasta and cheese. Dot with slices of real butter and a very light sprinkle of coarsely ground black pepper. Liberally top off with grated Parmesan cheese. Cover pan with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Let Mac & Cheese set in covered pan for 10 minutes before serving.

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Recipe: Easy Apple-Berry Crisp
BY: Virginia C

Ingredients:
1 can apple pie filling
1 can whole berry cranberry sauce (or 1 can cherry pie filling)
1/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups dry oatmeal

Preparation/Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 10" x 13" baking pan lightly with nonstick cooking spray. In a large mixing bowl, combine fruit. In a separate bowl, mix together butter, sugar and oatmeal (mixture will be crumbly). Spread fruit mixture evenly in prepared pan. Sprinkle oatmeal topping evenly over fruit. Bake for 30 minutes or until lightly brown and crisp (do not over bake). Serve warm or cold. If desired, top with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

— gincam     Thu, 02/18/2010 - 4:07am

Sarah, Gincam, all those recipes sound DELICIOUS! That apple-berry crisp looks like something fun to make with my kids. =) Thanks!

— veronica     Fri, 02/19/2010 - 7:56am

I am so lazy. I want to try these but when do I have the time? LOL!! I have a great shrimp salad to share but again to lazy to write it down. LOL

~Lizzie

— bttrfly29     Fri, 02/19/2010 - 11:48am