I know that usually I highlight recipes from different blogs.  Today I want to do something a little different.

Were you aware that today is the 20th of December?  Were you also aware that that means there are only five more days until Christmas?  I don’t know about you but for me…well I am swamed with stuff to do and my time is at a premium.  As much as I love to cook I need some really fast, easy, good meal ideas.  I want to spend time with the kids doing important stuff.

Like watching movies and making cookies.

You? Yep.  I thought so…

So rather than hunting up blogs I am going to link to a number of recipes, as well as give menu suggestions, that fit the following criteria:

• They are quick and easy…under 30 minutes
• They are good
• They don’t rely on ingredients that take a special trip to the store

Yes folks, what we need here is some retro-style!

• Cream of Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese.  Seriously.  What is more comforting and good than this classic combo?  Top the soup with a handful of popcorn just as you put it on the table…I know it sounds odd but I read this in one of my vintage cookbooks and it is really pretty as well as delicious.  If you want to make it a little more foodie oriented add some caramelized onions to the sandwich while you are grilling it.  You know you have to cut the sandwich in fourths on the diagonal and dip the corners into the soup, right?  Time:10 minutes
• When we owned the restaurant this Chicken and Wild Rice Soup was on the menu and it was a HUGE hit with everyone.  We sold out of it in a matter of minutes.  Serve it with smoked turkey, gouda, and a thin layer of cranberry sauce on raisin bread.  I swear.  Time 25 minutes.
  
• SOS…yes really.  I grew up on this stuff..I think alot of us in the 50s and 60s did.  It is a big comfort food for me.  Very simple, very good and will be on the table in less than 20 minutes.  Serve it over toast or egg noodles, and add a side salad.  This  recipe is about right.  I add one onion, chopped and 4 oz of cream cheese.  I leave out the flour, too, unless it won’t reduce and thicken. Time 20 minutes
• Diner food!  Give ‘em a blue plate special with this hot, open faced turkey sandwich. Add some mashed potatoes on the side, and well seasoned green beans.  You can turn oldies music on and pretend you are doing the Route 66 thing.  Start with good turkey from the deli, have them slice it on a one or two.  Time 10 minutes
• Pork Chops with Apple Sauce, this is so classic. You need to have a hunk of Emmental cheese and a good crusty bread with this.  This is a video featuring Rachel Ray.  Here is the print recipe Time 20 minutes
• Chili Dogs..Seriously..when is the last time you had one?  Put chopped onions in the bottom of the bun.  Top with a hot dog.  Spoon on some chili (I use Wolf Brand wiht no beans).  Spoon on some grilled onion and grated cheese, and put it on a plate next to some tots. Time:15 minutes
  
• Thai Ginger Chicken is quick and gourmet enough to keep your tastebuds reminded that you will resume cooking in a few days. Serve it with noodles rather than rice for even more time savings. Time 20 minutes
• Sweet Pepper Steak is gorgeous!  Feed the kids toasted cheese and tomato soup and put them to bed early.  This takes about 20 minutes to prepare.  Time: 20 minutes

Sure, we make things from scratch.  We use fleur de sel and routinely add lavender buds to shortbread cookies.  We know what rosewater is and we know that bacon makes a great brittle candy…but, this time of year with so much going on? Time to revisit your roots and eat the stuff you haven’t eaten in years.  It isn’t what you cook, you know..it is how you cook it. 

image:marye audet (c) 2008

Post from: Baking Delights

One thing that I get asked over and over again is how much groceries cost us.  The cost more since I have been working because I tend to buy some things I used to make form scratch but for our family of 8 (which includes at least 3 very big eaters) and three cats and a dog we spend about 600.00 a month.

Now, that does not include milk or eggs because we have goats and chickens for that.  The total bill for animal feed, including hay, runs about 60.00 a month.  That gives us 3 1/2 gallons of organic milk a week (at the moment, in the spring it is more and in a month or so the does will be dry until spring), and about 15 organic eggs a day in the summer and 9 eggs a day in the winter months.  I think I save about 80 dollars a month by having the animals.

All in all I think that I am pretty frugal..but I am sure there are lots of people doing better than I am.  Anyway, one thing I have learned to do is to create a meal from something I find on clearance.  For example, I got this piece of beef on sale for 30% off the lowest price..which made it $2.13

Obviously on it’s own it isn’t enough to make a meal for 8 people on.  But with a few additions it is filling, yummy and the whole meal, including green beans and salad as  sides, cost less than 1.00 a person…AND everyone was stuffed.

This is my entry for Presto Pasta Nights.  Ruth (Once Upon a Feast) is hosting this week so be sure and check out the great pasta ideas that everyone came up with. Pasta is a great way to fill up kids and save money, too!

Fajita Casserole 

serves 8 to 10 generously

1 lb bag of pasta, any shape cooked

1/2 to 1 lb of beef, sliced thin as for stir fry.

1 green pepper, chopped

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 tbs or more Fajita seasoning

1 tsp cumin

1 jalapeno, sliced (optional) or 1 tbs chipotle chopped (optional)

1 large can diced tomatoes

1/2  cup shredded cheddar

Sprinkle the beef with fajita seasoning and allow to stand for 30 minutes or up to several hours covered in the fridge.

Saute with the garlic, peppers, and onion in a pan until the meat is cooked but still tender.  Add tomatoes and cumin and pasta and simmer until heated through.  Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and serve.

Let’s recap…

meat-2.13

tomatoes 1.29

cheese .50 maybe

vegetables and spices 1.00

That works out to just over 61 cents per person…

images:marye audet

Post from: Baking Delights

This cauliflower soup recipe is serious comfort food..even if you don’t like cauliflower!  It is so simple, and tastes so rich… and it is a  low glycemic recipe as well.

It was chilly last week with the wind and the cloudy skies left over from the hurricane.  I have started wearing long sleeves and am boxing up the tank tops that get me through the 105 degree summers.  I had a head of cauliflower and my family doesn’t really like cauliflower other than raw in a dip.. A friend had given it to me when they went on vacation and she needed her fridge cleaned out!

Mmm…Cauliflower soup.

You can actually substitute cauliflower for potatoes in almost anything, I learned that when I was on Atkins….and I may be doing a bit more of that this winter. I think it is going to be a cold winter..my body is storing fat.  :/

Anyway, if you have a potato soup recipe you love then substitute with cauliflower once and see how you like it…Otherwise..try this because it is that good…If you happen to have some bacon to cook and crumble on top it is better…

Oh..and you need to make it the texture you like.  I puree mine until it is just smooth and creamy but feel free to leave pieces of cauliflower in there if your family likes a chunkier type soup.

I know some of you are going to balk at the half and half.  You can use milk..even skim milk if you like…but please, just try it with the half and half at least once!

Cream of Cauliflower Soup Recipe

1 large head of cauliflower, broken into florets

1/2  onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

8 cups of half and half, goat’s milk, whole milk etc.

1/4 cup unsalted butter

salt and white pepper to taste

1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

toast points

parsley

Cook the  cauliflower, covered, in as little water as possible.  You want to steam it to intensify the flavor.Steam it until it is very tender, and then set aside but leave the cover on.

Meanwhile saute the onion and garlic in a little butter until it is transparent.

Add the onion and garlic ot the cauliflower.  Puree along with the little water that remains in the pan (should be no more than a cup) in a blender until it is smooth.  Just process it a little at a time.  Pour the cauliflower puree back into the pan and add the cream.

Reheat the mixture over medium heat, stirring once in awhile.  When it reaches a good temperature add the grated cheese and the butter in pieces.  Stir until melted and blended.

Taste and and salt and pepper  as needed.

Ladle into bowls, add the toast point, a few gratings of parmesan and some parsley or chives.

Serves 8

Enjoy this cauliflower soup.  Recipes like this are so amazingly versatile and easy that you just keep going back to them again and again.

You can add in the following:

• cheddar cheese
• bacon
• ham
• chipotle
• green or red bell pepper
• smoked sausage

Image:Marye Audet

Post from: Baking Delights

Sometimes I feel that I have no time to cook. I really hate that because I love cooking but my life right now is just so busy that cooking seems to take a back seat.  I know I have been scarce in visiting your blogs…blame it on a huge amount of writing assignments and Chris being home…both good things!

Even my photography seems to be BLAH.

I have midwestern roots.  Yeah I do. I know,  know..I don’t say “pop” or “prit-neer” abd U do say y’all.  I admit it.

But I know that a salad can be jello with bananas,  marshmallows, and whipped cream and served as a side dish with any meal, o.k.? Not only do I know that salt rising bread makes the best toast EVER I happen to have an addiction to pickled ring bologna.  I know where Lapeer is and I have eaten Howell melons.  So..there.  I have even eaten fish at Whiteys, which probably doesn’t even exist any more.

Now, one of the main things about midwestern cooking is the ability to mix anything with macaroni and beef and call it a casserole. Stop laughing. You know I am right.

I have kale growing really well in the garden. It seems to be one plant that can withstand anything Texas can throw at it.  It is very good for you, lots of iron.  It can taste strong unless it is cooked with other foods that can handle the flavor.  Onion, garlic, olive oil, and a good sprinkle of sea salt all help the flavor to calm down and be perfect. It is a great addition to this filling meal.

Best of all? It is done in less than 30 minutes..Oh yeah!  It is not gourmet, it is not something that is going to make people oooh and ahhhh…but it is good and wholesome  comfort food.  Guess what else? You can use it for OAMC. It makes a great freezer meal.

This is my entry into  Presto Pasta Night.  Kevin at Closet Cooking is hosting this event this week!  You know what that means..yeah..fantastic images!
In the grand tradition of my ancestors I present to you:

Macaroni, Kale and Beef Casserole

2 lbs Macaroni, cooked and drained

2  lbs good ground beef

1 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped,

A good size bunch of kale, washed and chopped

3 Tbs Worcestershire sauce

Cubed mozzarella, or cheese of choice, as much as desired

Sea salt and cracked pepper to taste

Brown beef, onion, pepper, kale, and garlic in a large frying pan.  Stir constantly and salt and pepper to taste as the meat is browning.  Stir in Worcestershire sauce, macaroni, and cheese. Warm through.

Serves 12

Image:Marye Audet 

Post from: Baking Delights