Combing Through the Past

This past weekend my Aunt and I started combing through my Nana's home. My grandmother is no longer able to live on her own and so we are in the process of getting her house ready to sell. In the process of doing this, I have found some old cookbookd from the 50s-the 70s. My Nana was an amazing cook. she was a depression baby, so, everything she made was really simple but delicious. I wish I as able to learn more from her, see more of her recipes. Ironically, my Nana was meticulous about documenting everything. All her cards, gifts, books, ect.. have the date they were received and from whom she received them. Yet, she did not document many of her own personal recipes. Alzheimers has wreached havoc on her memory, so, I am left combing through these old cookbooks searching for her handwritten notes. I will say it is interesting how many jello molds or salads include marshellows and nuts and how many casseroles incluse meat, cream soup and veggies!

Here are a few I have found:

Dixies (similar to a Blondie)
5c brown sugar
6 oz melted butter
5 eggs
1 1/2 t salt
5 c flour
2 1/2 c chopped pecans
2 1/2 t Vanilla
1 1/2 t baking powder

Mix butter and sugar. Beat in eggs. Sift in Salt and flour. Add vanilla and pecans. Grease and flour pan, bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes. Cut into squares and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
**This makes a HUGE serving, but they were my uncles favorite and served a family of 7 with leftovers!

Green Salad ( a family favorite served at every holiday meal)
1 small container cottage cheese (small curd)
1 pkg lime jello
1 pkg lemon jello
2 c hot water
1 c half and half
1 c mayo
1 small can pinapple bits
Combine jellos and 2 cups hot water (or drain pineapple juice into measure cup then fill with hot water to 2 cups). Pour into bowl and allow to start to set up. You want a soft set, if you allow to set up to long it will have chunks of jello...not desired!
Once set, mix in remaining ingredients and refridge for a few hous or over night.

Sprinkle Salad
1 c coconut
1 c pineapple
1 c mandarin oranges
1 c marshmellows
1 c sourcream
1 c fruit coctail *optional
Combine and serve. Similar to an ambrosia.


Peanut Blossoms
1 3/4 c flour
1/2 c sugar
1/2c firmly packed brown sugar
1 t soda
1/2 c shortening
3/4+ c peanut butter
1 egg
2T milk
1 t vanilla
48 Hershey's kisses
Combine everything in a bown except kisses. Blend and shape into balls. Roll in a bit of extra sugar. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and top immediately will kisses.


Apricot Bars
1 1/2 flour
1 t baking powder
1 c brown sugar
1 1/2 c quick oats
3/4 c butter
1 c apricot jam

Mix flour, Baking powder, sugar and oats. Cut butter in until crumbly. Pat 2/3 of mixture into a 13x9 pan. Spread with jam. Cover with remaining crumb mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Cool and cut.

 Tapioca
 3/4 c pearl tapioca
3 1/2 c milk
2 eggs
1/3 c sugar
1/4 t salt
1 t vanilla
 Soak in crockpot overnight. In the morning turn pot on low and cook for about 3 1/2 hrs. Stir occassionally. Add lightly beaten eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla. Cook 15 minutes then turn off and serve.


Chocolate Cherry Bars
1 box chocolate cake mix
1 cherry pie filling
2 eggs
1 t almond extract
Mix just until blended. Spread into a cookie sheet  and bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Let cool.
Frosting:Combine 1 1/2c sugar, 6 T milk, 6T butter. Bring to a hard boil for 1 minute. Take off heat and add another 1/2c milk and 1 c chocolate chips. Mix until melted and then spread over chocolate cherry bars.

Jello cake
1 pkg jello (dissolved in 1 c hot water)
1 pkg cake mix
3/4c  oil
4 eggs
Let jello sit until it starts to set. Then in a seperate bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Beat in well, and jello and mix again. Makes large layer cakes. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minues.


Molasses Cake
1 c sugar
1/2 c shortening
2 eggs
2 T molasses
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
1 c buttermilk
1 t cinnamon
1/4 t cloves
1/2 t nutmeg
Combine all ingredients and pour in a loaf pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.


Caramel Custard
1/2 c sugar
3 T boiling water
 2 c milk
3 eggs
1/2 t vanilla
Melt sugar in the pa until clear and golden brown. Add water and cook until sugar is dissolved. Add milk, vanilla and slightly beaten eggs then pour into custard cups. Set in a pan of water and bake at 325 degree for 45 minutes.


Mocha Custard
2 egg yolks
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c cream
1/4 t vanilla
1 1/2 c strong coffee
Beat yolks slightly. Add sugar, coffee, cream, and vanilla. Pour into baking dish and set dish in a water bath. Bake at 325 degrees until firm (about 40-45 minutes).

Chicken and Gravy Dinner with Homemade Noodles

This is an awesome recipe. I made a huge helping of it! I took some over to my in-laws, some to a sick friend and still had enough for dinner AND a freezer meal! This is a great simple freezer meal. You do not have to go through all the effort to make the homemade noodles, but it is def. worth the extra work. If you do not make the fresh pasta and decide to freeze...I would recommend freeze without pasta. Make fresh before serving.

Easy Veggie Beef and Barley Soup

This was a really hearty soup. The great thing about this soup is you can use any cut of beef. I would recommend browning the beef first to keep the meat juicy and then cook until tender. I had enough left to freeze for another day! Great meal for a cool night!

Easy Italian Skillet

This is a super simple recipe. It calls for Hamburger meat, but you can use any kind you would like. I decided to make spicy sausage meatballs this time. I used spicy sausage and mixed with breadcrumbs and an egg. I also used Rigatoni. That seems to be the only pasta Ante will eat. (I used some of the left over Ricotta to make Lemon Ricotta Pancakes the next morning!)

Here is my recipe card: (You can click on the card for a full view)

January's Menu

I love meal planning and I do it virtually every week. On the weeks where I don't have a concrete menu or during the holidays, I feel completed disorganized and struggle with menu ideas from night to night. I also tend to go to the store and buy a bunch of stuff...which ends up costing more than when I do a prescribed menu.

The other complication I find with weekly menu planning is time. Sunday should be a nice relaxed day, the perfect day for menu planning..right!?! By the time everyone get's up...namely my late rising husband -Sunday is his sleep in day...and I make a big, yummy breakfast, it is usually 11 or so. By this time Ante is ready for some real entertainment... playing by himself is no longer cutting it! So, this is usually when we take a walk up to the newspaper box. That's the easy part...then the charade usually begins.

When we get back, my husband gets ready while I try to quickly finish up the menu for the week, clip the coupons and match them to the sale items at the store. This usally takes me about an hour...between looking up new recipes, getting a list together, looking up ads and combing through coupons...the time can quickly get away from me! Oh, and I still have to get myself and the baby ready!

Now, don't think I do not enjoy doing this because I do probably too much. When mu hubbie sees me on the computer he always chuckles and asks...are you working or looking at food porn again! I can get consumed and before I know it the day can easily slip by...and I still have to get to the store...before naptime. You think we would have learned by now that taking a hungry, cranky 1 yo to the grocery store is not a good plan!

So, long story short, I decided to try a monthly plan. Now, I know this is adventurous for several reasons. 1. I am on vacation from work right now, so, I had plenty of time to work on it THIS month. 2. My weekly plan is pretty fluid, so it will be interetsing to see how fluid a month is, but it can't hurt...are ya with me! 3. I usually plan my meals based on the sales, so, a monthly plan might impede on that. Yet, I also think by having a monthly plan I can stock up on things as they go on sale. I am not limited to buying only this weeks necessities. I like being able to plan ahead although my weekly budget will not change. I stay firm on spending between $60-80 a week depending on what needs stocking.

Drum roll please...

***I will add some of the recipes from this meal plan as we go through the month, but I can't promise anything!

Pancakes, Pancakes Everywhere!

My absolute favorite breakfast are pancakes. They are the breakfast of champions! I love piling up each steaming, luscious pancake between layers of melted butter. Then, lovingly dripping fresh maple syrup all over the lovies. Are you hungry yet? What could be better?

My favorite pancakes are Whole Wheat Buttermilk pancakes. Ante, on the other hand, adores Nutter Butters (sometimes with a few mini chocolate chips...if he was a really good boy!) 

I usually make a double batch of whatever perfect pancakes fits my fancy and freeze the leftovers for future breakfasts. Ante loves pancakes and it is currently a breakfast staple. So, here are a few different pancakes currently in our freezer:

A few random caviots...You can use any type of flour you would like...don't have whole wheat flour, you can use its bleached or unbleached flour counterpart. Whatever fits your fancy! Also, when making the batter mix just until all the ingredients are combined. If you continue to mix you will activate the wheat glutten making your pancakes chewy. No one wants a chewy pancake!


Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes
1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp oil

Combine everything and cook on the griddle!

Nutter Butter Pancakes
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I use half white and half wheat flour)
6 tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups fat-free milk (or 1 can evaporated milk)
1/2 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter
1 tbsp Olive oil (or any type you prefer)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Combine all dry ingredients in one bowl and all the wet in a seperate bowl. Combine the wet into the dry and cook!
***For Peanut Butter Chocolate Chips pancakes...put the pancakes on the griddle and then add a few to the pancakes as the cook. For Peanut butter Banana Pancakes,  You can also add a few thin slices of bannana to the pancake one on the griddle, or mash it up and serve on top. Another alternative is to serve the pancakes with a bit of jam (PB&J pancakes)


Eggnog pancakes
***This is a great way to use up that left over eggnog

2 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups eggnog
¼ cup canola oil

Combine all dry ingredients in one bowl and all the wet in a seperate bowl. Combine the wet into the dry and cook!




Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
***This is a great way to use up the left over ricotta in your fridge. I use fresh lemons from my trees, but you can use the juice in the plastic lemons in you like.

4 eggs, separate yolks and whites

1/3 cups ricotta
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tbsp freshly grated lemon zest
1/2 cup flour
**Optional: 1tsp poppyseeds

Combine egg yolks, ricotta, sugar, zest and flour (also poppy seed if using). Beat the egg whites until peaks form (this works best when the egg whites are at room temp.) Fold egg whites in. Then cook. If the center still looks a bit soft, turn the heat to low and cook a touch longer.
***You do not have to seperate the whites and the yolks if you do not have the time. Beating the egg whites will make the pancakes really light and fluffy.



Orange Sour Cream Pancakes
***This is a great way to use up that left over sour cream (or Ricotta). I use oranges fresh from our tree, but if you only have OJ from the carton that is fine too. Just skip the zest and use 1/4-1/3 cup OJ.
2 eggs
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup milk
Juice and zest from one orange
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
Optional: 1 tsp cardamon

Combine eggs, butter, milk, ricotta, orange (zest and juice) and sugar. In a spereate bowl combine flour and baking powder (and cardamon is using). Mix wet ingredients with dry. Batter does not have to be perfectly smooth, just no large lumps. Cook!


Apple Cinnamon Pancakes
***These are a great way to use up those yummy apples and no, I do not have an apple tree! :)
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups greek yogurt (or regular yogurt, plain or vanilla)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar or honey
3 apples, peeled and shredded
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon (I prefer extract)

Combine all wet ingredients in one bowl and all dry in another. Then, fold the wet into the dry; cook!

Book Review: Hungry Girl 200 under 200

I guess this is a fitting review coming right after the holidays. If you are looking to cut calories while still eating yummy, creative foods...then this is the book for you. Lisa Lillien does an outstanding job showing the average cook how to simplify their recipes to be much more figure friendly! I LOVE this idea! Many times recipes are yummy but tend to add too much to the backside! So, this cookbook shows you how to keep it under control!

I had some difficulties with these recipes because I prefer to make everything from scratch...so these recipes did not really work well with my cooking style, but they will probably be GREAT for the average mom. I chose to make a LOT of changes to these recipes to accomodate my families eating styles, yet the premise was the same. By this I mean I substituted things like...egg substitute for real organic eggs, Splenda/sweetener for agave nectar, honey, stevia or plain ol' sugar. I also nixed things like Coffeemate creamer, whip cream/Reddi-wip, boxed cake mix, ect... I know this added the calories back into the recipes, but the calorie count was not my focus.

This cookbook include some fabulous breakfast options, sensational salads, happy appis and mini meal mania. The author, Lisa Lillien, does a great job of dialing down the fat and calories in many of our everyday recipes while also intermixing some fun new ones! Yet, I focused on the sweets. Since the holidays, I have had my eye on baking and with baking comes lots of tasting. So, I figured the least I could do was try to the lightened calorie count on these tasty treats.

(By the way, there are a bunch of fun cupcake recipes...you should check them out!)


Tiramisu Pudding
1/2 c ricotta
1/2 Jello sugar free Vanilla Pudding mix (organic sugar free vanilla pudding)
1/4 c Cool whip (I made my own)
2 T Splenda (Stevia)
1/4 t vanilla
1/4 t unsweetened cocoa powder

1. Combine everything (except the cocoa powder) until smooth and sprinkle the cocoa powder on top. This was super simple and yummy. This is a fun little pudding snack!

***I added a bit of instant espresso powder to mine.


Gooey Crunch Fruit Tartlets
1 1/2 c strawberries, halved
1 1/2 c peaches, sliced
2 T Splenda (Agave Nectar)
2 T cornstarch
1/4 t cinnamon
1/4 t vanilla

Tartlets:
12 small wonton wrappers
Non-stick spray

1. Combine Splenda,  cornstarch, cinnamon, vanilla, and a dash of salt. Add 1/2c cold water and stir until all ingredients are dissolved.
2. In a non stick pan over medium heat, boil the Splenda mix, strawberries and peaches. Stir constantly until a thick syrup forms. Then, cool completely.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray the cups in a mini muffin pan with nonstick spray. Place the wanton wraps in the munnin cups then spray again with non stick spray. Bake for 10 minutes or until firm and brown. Allow to cool, then transfer  to a plate.
4. Spoon chilled fruit filling into the cups. Top with cool whip.

***These were good! I could have personally cut pack on the syrup. These would also be great as an actual tart. Using 4" tart pans with fresh fruit and cover top with syrup (ooh and a cream under the frash fruits would be delightful)


Fuji Fritters
Apple Mix:
3c Peeled Fuji apples
3 T Splenda (Sugar)
1 T cornstarch
1 t cinnamon
1 t vanilla

Fritter Base:
1 1/3 c regular oats
2/3 c Bisquick mix (I made my own Biscuit mix)
2/3 c vanilla soy milk
2 T brown sugar
1 1/2 T butter
1 t baking powder

1. Preheat over to 400 degrees. Place apple chunks in micro with 1/4 c water for 2 1/2 minutes. Drain water and set aside. (I did on the stove instead)
2. In a pot, combine the Splenda, cornstarch, cinnamon, and vanilla with 1/2 c cold water. Cook over medium heat until the sauce has thickened to a caramel like consistency. Remove from heat and stur into apple chunks.
3. In a mixing bowl combine fritter mix and fold into apple mix. Spray cookie sheets with cooking spray and spoon 12 mounds onto sheets. Bake 12-15 minutes until centers come out clean.

***I made these, but used half zuchini and half apple. They were yummo! Could also be done with sweet potatoes, carrots, ect... be creative.

Fluffy Lemon Squares
Crust:
1 1/2 c Fiber One Cereal
1/4 c butter, melted
2 T water
4 T sweetner (Powdered sugar)

Filling:
1 c egg substitute (4 organic eggs)
1 2/3 c Splenda (Stevia)
1/3 c White sugar
6 T Whole wheat flour
6 T fresh lemon juice
2 T lemon zest
2 t baking powder

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees. In a food processor, grind up cereal. Combine with butter, water and sweetner.
2. Spray an 8x8 pan with cooking spray. Press crust evenly on the bottom of the pan and bake for 5 minutes.
3. In a seperate bowl, combine filling ingredients and mix well. Pour into crust and bake 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely. (I sprinkled powdered sugar on top and served)

***These were a nice way to use a up a few lemons from my tree. The crust was a healthy alternative, but I still prefer a fattening butter, flour and sugar alternative.


Oh My! Oatmeal Cookies
3/4 c regular oats

1/3 c whole-wheat flour
1/4 c raisins, chopped ( I left whole)
1/4 c brown sugar
2 T Splenda (1 T honey)
2 T light whipped butter
2 T applesauce
2 T egg substitute (1 organic egg)
1/4 t vanilla extract
1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t cinnamon
dash salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine brown sugar, Splenda, butter, applesauce, egg substitute, and vanilla extract, and mix thoroughly. Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt, and stir until completely mixed and smooth. Add oats and raisins.
2. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Spoon 6 cookie mounds onto the sheet. Using the back of a spoon, spread and flatten batter into circles about 3 1/2 inches wide.
3. Bake for about 10 minutes.

***These were great alternatives to the trad oatmeal cookie recipe. As always I added in a bit of shredded carrot.