Category Archives: Recipes

What to do with your Bounty…

When trying to lose some extra pounds put on over the last year for different reasons what is the best approach to using produce from your own fruit trees? We have an apple tree, a pear tree, and blueberry bushes on our property. Property sounds big but truth be told we only have 1/3rd of an acre. I froze much of our blueberry harvest and made applesause that is frozen from our apples but now I’m working on the pears. Everything that sounds good for pears is sweet and yummy and loaded with calories. I saw this great recipe at LazyonLoblolly and it helped me to use up some of my pears. To make your frosting look more like the Southern Living magazine photo you will need to add more powdered sugar than the recipe asks for. The frosting is delicious so I would not exhange it for caramel sauce.

So back to losing weight. If you are going to continue to use the bounty available to you from your property/garden the best remedy to gaining lots of weight is to give some away to your neighbors. I have a neighbor who is a younger widow and she would never bake a whole cake, pie, etc. for herself anymore. She gladly accepts a  piece of cake, or a piece of pie or a couple muffins from me. It’s a win win situation. I took 3 pieces of this cake to another neighbor who works full time and probably doesn’t have the same time I have to bake. Her husband and daughter would enjoy something homemade.  My sister and BIL were the other recipients of a couple pieces of this cake. My sister travels back and forth from California and even though she stills enjoys baking she also appreciates a treat from her big sister.  If you have creative ideas that need to be brought to fruition don’t abandon them. Think of ways you can share your bounty with those in your neighborhood.

Maybe this started out as an all about me and losing weight post but I hope it was warped into a better love your nieghbor as yourself post instead…

Thank you for your get well wishes! I’m feeling a lot better and happy to say I didn’t get the full on ick my husband endured…

 

Pasta Carbonara ~

 

Head over to Mennonite Girls Can Cook for the recipe.

I’m happy to report my son got Katie and me off the couch last night and we walked over to the local high school and had some exercise. Mostly I walked while Katie and Josh did some jogging and running around the track. After the football squads ended their practices we played a little soccer. I managed to record 7245 steps.

 I hope to get walking back into my normal routine. I have already changed up the way I eat and since June 12th I’ve manged to drop 13 pounds and boy does my body appreciate it. I’ve got another 10 pounds to lose before I shop for a Mother of the Bride dress.

Chalupa or Carnitas

 

This is a recipe that cooks for several hours so start it earlier in the day. You can enjoy a few meals during your week with the yield from this recipe.
Chalupa
Ingredients:

  • 1 pound pinto beans
  • 3 pounds boneless pork
  • 6 cups water
  • 1/2 cup onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 Tablespoons chili powder
  • 1 Tablespoon cumin seeds
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 Tablespoon salt
  • 1- 4 ounce can of diced jalapenos (if you like a little heat) or…
  • 1- 6 ounce can of diced green chilies
  • 1/2 – 1 cup Pace Picante sauce (or any brand of Mexican sauce/salsa available in your area)

Method:

  1. Put all ingredients in dutch oven or crock pot.
  2. Cover and simmer about 5 hours or until roast falls apart and the beans are soft.
  3. Uncover shred the meat and cook to thicken to desired consistency.
  4. If using a crock pot cook on low for 8-9 hours.
  5. Check after 5 hours to make sure the beans haven’t absorbed all the liquid.
  6. Add 1 cup water at a time if you need to.
  7. After the meat is cooked and beans are soft shred the pork.
  8. Enjoy this meat with corn or flour tortillas and with toppings of your choice.

This would also work well wrapped in a small flour tortilla and deep fried. I’ve seen Chalupas on Mexican Restaurant menus served in this deep fried form.

This is a recipe that cooks for several hours so start it earlier in the day. You can enjoy a few meals during your week with the yield from this recipe.

This is a slightly different recipe.

Chalupas or Carnitas

1 lb. pinto beans
3 lbs. boneless pork shoulder or butt
5 cups water
1 cup orange juice (pulp free)
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons chili powder
1 Tablespoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 Tablespoon salt
1- 4 oz. can of diced jalapenos (if you like a little heat) or…
1- 6 oz. can of diced green chilies
1/2 – 1 cup Pace Picante sauce (or any brand of Mexican sauce/salsa available in your area)

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in pan and sear boneless pork on all sides. Put all ingredients in dutch oven or crock pot, placing the seared meat on top. Cover and simmer about 5 hours or until roast falls apart and the beans are soft. Uncover shred the meat and cook to thicken to desired consistency. If using a crock pot cook on low for 8-9 hours. Check after 5 hours to make sure the beans haven’t absorbed all the liquid. Add 1 cup water at a time if you need to. After the meat is cooked and beans are soft shred the pork.

 

Persian Kotlety

 

One of our favorites growing up were Kotlety. We used to call them Russian hamburgers. A recipe for a more Russian version of these is in our cookbook but I wanted to share this recipe that has a Persian twist.

Head over to the Mennonite Girls Can Cook Blog to see the recipe today.

Photobucket replaced all my photos with blurred out versions and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

Carne Asada

 

Today is Cinco de Mayo and I wanted to share a Mexican Recipe with you. In elementary school growing up in the Los Angeles area of Southern California we would always have a celebration at school on this day. We learned the Mexican Hat Dance and enjoyed performing it at our assembly. Cinco de Mayo is a date of  importance for the Mexican and Chicano communities. It marks the victory of the Mexican Army over the French at the Battle of Puebla. Although the Mexican army was eventually defeated, the “Batalla de Puebla” came to represent a symbol of Mexican unity and patriotism. With this victory, Mexico demonstrated to the world that Mexico and all of Latin America were willing to defend themselves of any foreign intervention. Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico’s Independence Day, September 16, 1810 is. Cinco de Mayo is celebrated on a much larger scale in the U.S.A. than in Mexico.

 

 Carne Asada (or Pollo Asada)

A great marinade for steak! You can even use it for chicken for Pollo Asada. Use skirt steak or flap meat, but any thin cut steak would work. I used what is called Flank Steak here in the Washington State. This recipe is for up to 4 pounds of meat. Cook time does NOT include marinating time. You can use 4 pounds of chicken breast meat also.

Ingredients:

1 –  lime juiced
1 –  lemon juiced
1/2 cup orange Juice
2 tablespoons chili powder
1-l/2 tablespoons dried oregano leaves
2 tablespoons ground cumin
5 cloves of garlic chopped
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 Bunch Cilantro, chopped (not stems)

Method:

Combine all ingredients in a 1-gallon ziploc bag.

Add meat, seal and massage marinade into meat.

Marinate in bag for up to 24 hours, turning and massaging frequently. 4-6 hours for beef and 2-4 hours for chicken would work fine, also.

Grill to medium rare for beef and of course for chicken till it’s cooked thoroughly.

Serve whole, sliced, or diced for tacos or burritos! Serve with beans, rice, corn tortillas and guacamole.

Because it wasn’t grilling weather I cooked this under the broiler for 8 minutes on each side and it was well done. If you like meat that is medium rare adjust the cooking time.

Photobucket replaced all my photos with blurred out versions and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

Pico de Gallo

 

This is a simple recipe with a wonderful fresh addition to any Mexican dish you make. It’s great for an appetizer with chips. You can also add avocado chunks to it for an extra depth of flavor.

This is a very simple recipe.

Equal parts diced onion, tomato, and chopped cilantro leaves. Add one jalapeno pepper finely diced. Make sure you seed the jalapeno pepper. Add juice from one half or a whole lime. Salt and Pepper to taste. I also added 1/2 teaspoon sugar.

If you start with more than 1 cup onion, tomato and cilantro you might want to add more jalapeno. It really depends on how hot you like your Pico de Gallo.

Photobucket replaced all my photos with blurred out versions and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

Fulfilling Promises…

When I showed you the cake for our daughter’s birthday a couple weeks ago I promised to share the recipe. I have shared this recipe on my blog before but I’m posting it again. This cake is a family favorite. When I asked my daughter what she’d like for her birthday cake she requested this one.

The photo below was added in 2022 and is from our daughter’s birthday party in December of 2021. She’s still requesting this cake.

Applesauce Spice Cake

1 pkg. yellow cake mix
1 pkg. 4 serving size Jello instant vanilla pudding
4 eggs
1 cup applesauce
1/2 C. water
1/4 C. oil
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. all-spice (optional)
1/2 cup raisins, finely chopped (optional)

Combine all ingredients in large mixing bowl of electric mixer and blend then beat at medium for 4 minutes. Pour into well greased and floured 10 inch tube or fluted tube pan. (I’ve used a bundt cake pan and angel food cake pan). Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. DO NOT UNDERBAKE. Cool in pan for 15 min. remove and cool on rack. When the cake has cooled and before I serve it I give it a dusting of powdered sugar.

When I went out to purchase ingredients for the cake I forgot to buy applesauce. I didn’t want to make another trip to the store so I checked my cupboard and found a jar of spiced pear butter that my friend Sandy from the Reluctant Entertainer gifted me when we met for dinner earlier this year. Here’s her recipe for Sweet Spiced Apple Butter which looks just like the Pear butter.  Since the pears were already spiced nicely I omitted the spices from the recipe and just added the jar of goodness to the recipe. It turned out very nice and the spices were just right. Thank you Sandy!

For the record, I’ve never added the raisins to this recipe. My family prefers it without.

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

My Reuben we’re calling Rebekah…

 

 

The traditional Reuben Sandwich is made with Corned Beef, sauerkraut, Swiss Cheese, Thousand Island dressing or Russian Dressing. This past weekend Dear wanted a Reuben sandwich. We had pastrami on hand so we decided to make our Reuben a Rebekah Sandwich. We hear a Rachel Sandwich substitutes Pastrami for Corned Beef and coleslaw for the sauerkraut. Here’s our tasty yummy good to the last bite Rebekah with Pastrami, Sauerkraut, Swiss Cheese, mustard, and Thousand Island Dressing. Another thing we decided to try was to heat the pastrami in the skillet with the Swiss on top and the sauerkraut on the side. When they heated through we loaded the bread and grilled it.

 

To see a different version of the Reuben Sandwich click over to Kathy’s on the Mennonite Girls Can Cook Blog.

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.