Until next year...

Semester 1 is finished.  These talented, interested, creative and innovative students have completed the Food and Nutrition course once again!

As their teacher, I am always quite impressed with what they learn to do - both in class and what they choose to post to the blog as well.  I hope their families and friends have been impressed too.

One of my goals for this course is that students learn that food is a gift from God that should be enjoyed.  Just like all things given to us on this earth, we should enjoy food responsibly and act as stewards of this gift.  We are called to appreciate it, know where it comes from, and consume to nourish our bodies for lives of service.

This blog won't be active until next school year, but it will remain up for you reading and re-reading pleasure.

Happy cooking and creating!

Ms M ("The Teacher") on behalf of the Food and Nuts class

Quinoa Tabbouleh

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed well
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt plus more
• 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large English hothouse cucumber or 2 Persian cucumbers, cut into 1/4" pieces
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced

Preparation

Bring quinoa, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1 1/4 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until quinoa is tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Meanwhile, whisk lemon juice and garlic in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in olive oil. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper.

Spread out quinoa on a large rimmed baking sheet; let cool. Transfer to a large bowl; mix in 1/4 cup dressing. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover remaining dressing and quinoa separately; chill.

Add cucumber, tomatoes, herbs, and scallions to bowl with quinoa; toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Drizzle remaining dressing over.

Christmas Pinwheel Cookies

Ready to be baked

I made this recipe on Christmas Eve with my 6 year old brother who loves cooking. It is just a simple sugar cookie recipe with a twist. I came upon this idea on a facebook post and I wondered how they did it so I looked it up. I thought these cookies tasted great and my siblings loved them. They are amazing for parties and Christmas desserts (I made a few more batches for a Christmas party I went too).

Ingredients:
-2 cups flour
-1/2 tsp baking powder
-1/4 tsp salt
-2/3 cup powdered sugar
-1/4 cup granulated sugar
-2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (cut in small chunks)
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1/2 tsp of food colouring of your choice (I used green)
-optional extract of your choice (I used peppermint)
-1/2 tsp of another food colouring (I used red)
-holiday sprinkles

Directions:

Final Result

Blend the first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl. Slowly add butter and continue mixing. Add vanilla extract and mix well. Split your dough into 2 equal parts. Take the first part and blend in the green food colouring and peppermint extract. Mix until colour is spread out evenly. Do the same with the other part but with the red food colouring and no extra extract. Roll out both portions of dough separately between two sheets of wax paper until it is about 1/4 inch thick. Put both on a cookie sheet and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. When firm, remove wax paper. Brush the red dough with water. Flip the green dough onto the vanilla dough so they are evenly stacked onto each other. Put the sprinkles on a large platter and set aside. Lightly press the edges together to seal. Begin rolling the long side of the dough into a swirl. Now lift your dough log onto the sprinkles and coat the log completely with them. Wrap the coated log with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3-4 hours (or keep in freezer for up to 2 months, depending on when you are planning on using it). Slice the dough into 1/4 inch slices and bake on baking sheets for 350. When edges are golden (15-17 minutes) take out of the oven and let cool. Enjoy your Christmas Pinwheel cookies with a warm mug of hot chocolate.

Chocolate chip cookies

Ingredients:

Chocolate brownies

Chocolate brownies 

1. cup margarine

2.1 cup baking cocoa

3.4 eggs lightly beaten

4. 2 cups sugar

5. 1 1/2 tsp vanilla

6. 1 1/3 cups flour 

7. 1 teaspoon baking powder

8. 1/2 tsp salt

In large sauce pan melt margarine, remove from heat stir in cocoa and eggs, beat well

Stir in flour and rest of ingredients, mix well 

Put in a 9 x 13 pan, greased   

Baked at 350 degrees for 35 mins. 

Chicken quesadilla

This is a faily simple way to make some chicken quesadillas. 

Ingredients:

Chicken

Diced tomatoes

Chopped green onion

Cheddar cheese

Mozzarella cheese

2 flour tortillas

A little bit of melted butter

Directions:

Get your chicken, if it's raw cook it first. 

Butter one side of each tortilla and place it in a heated skillet at 350C

Spread cheese (mix the cheddar and mozzarella) all over the tortilla.

Add green onions and tomatoes, how ever much you want.

Dice up your chicken into small pieces and place on just one half of the tortillas.

Fold it over, cook them till golden brown and enjoy!

Lemon syllubub

Lemon syllubub, light and easy desert I made for my family last night.

Ingredients:

1 cup whipping cream

1/2 white sugar

1/4 cup lemon juice

Put everything into a medium sized bowl and then whisk until thick.

Enjoy!

Quinoa

I didn't go all out on this recipe because I don't particularly like quinoa.

I made one cup of quinoa and spice it with:

1/2tsp cayanne pepper

1/2tsp thyme

1/2tsp chili pepper 

And topped it with 1/2 cup of Diana honey garlic barbecue sauce.

Eggnog

Always a festive treat!! Good ole' eggnog!!
This is made with uncooked eggs

Ingredients:
4 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
2 Cups whole milk
1 Cup heavy cream
1 Tsp nutmeg
4 egg whites

Directions:
-Whisk egg yolks until lightened
-Gradually add 1/3 sugar to eggs and beat until dissolved
-Add milk, cream and nutmeg. Stir yo combine
-In a separate bowl whisk egg white to a soft peak
-Add 1 Tbsp of sugar and whisk to firm peaks
-Whisk into egg mixture

This was ok....I think next year i want to find one that is a little smoother than this one. Possibly try a cooked one as well!!

Ugali

One of my absolute favorite things ever!!! My dad used to eat it a lot when he grew up in Kenya, its 2 popular names are ugali or posho, same thing just called differently in different parts of Africa!

Ingredients:
-4 Cups water
-2 Tsp salt
-2 Cups white cornmeal

Directions:
-Bring water to a boil and add salt
-Sift cornmeal through fingers into water slowly
-Reduce heat to med-low and cook, smashing lumps until thick
-Let cool

Turned out well, great to use as a spoon with beans!!

Quinoa Pancakes

I really didnt know what i wanted to do with this!! I never had it before and it was really interesting to try and find what to do...one morning i wanted pancakes and i saw the bag of quinoa on my counter and....well ya!!

Ingredients:
3/4 Cup buttermilk
1 Cup flour
1 Cup cooked quinoa
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tsp Baking powder
1/2 Tsp baking soda
1/2 Tsp salt
1 Egg
2 Tbsp butter, melted


Directions:
-Combine dry ingredients (and quinoa)
-Combine wet
-Whisk until smooth
-Heat large skillet over med. heat
-Spray skillet and add 1/4 cup of batter at a time
-Cook until bubbles form than flip

tuuudummmm thats it!! Its simply pancakes with quinoa!! They were alright, preferably i would use less next time but it was pretty good for a first try!!

Parfait

Super cheap and easy!!! Also really quick to make and adding a spoonful of sugar can make it that much more awesome

Ingredients:
1 Cup plain (or flavored) yogurt
1/2 Cup blueberries
5-10 Strawberries
spoonful of sugar

Directions:
Its simple, really do it how you want

-wash your fruit, cut strawberries in 1/2
-layer yogurt then fruit....when you run out add sugar....thats it!

Its super super super simple and can taste really great when you find the perfect combination of fruit to yogurt!!

Creme Brulee

First off I have somehow lost all of my pictures!!! I have no clue what happened but for my next few blog posts i'll be posting pictures that look as close to what I made as I can find! But now onto the true post, i made creme brulee...one of my favorite desserts! I made it ages ago but its been a good five years or so!! They are easy to make but just take a good deal of time!

Ingredients:
4 cups heavy cream
Vanilla bean*
1 cup sugar
6 egg yolks
8 cups hot water

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 325
-Bring cream and vanilla to a boil, take off heat and let sit (covered) for 15 min.
-In med. bowl whisk 1/2 sugar and egg yolks, whisk until lightened
-Add cream a little at a time
-Divide between 6 ramekins
-Place in roasting pan and fill with water till half way up.
-Back 40-45 min
-Refrigerate over night
-Remove from fridge for 30 min
-Divide 1/2 cup sugar over and torch until golden

There ya have it! Nice and tasty and simple!! PLEASE try it!!!!

Lemon Pops!

I did this a while ago but thought it posted so I deleted the picture and so I just used a picture off google. 

1/2c lemon juice 

1tbls sugar 

1c water 

1/3c milk 

Leave to freeze. Then enjoy!! 

So yummy! 

Chicken dinner

I didn't really find a recipe for this one I just used the thinnest layer of BBQ sauce. Sometimes the simple things are the most delicious!

Classic Lasagna

Here is a delicious recipe for lasagna. It was a great main dish to make because it was easy and everyone loved it. Plus you can decide how much cheese  you want to use depending on your preference. Here is the link to the recipe, Classic Lasagna

Ingredients:

• 9 uncooked lasagna noodles (about 8 ounces)
• PAM® Olive Oil No-Stick Cooking Spray
• 1 pound ground beef (Italian pork sausage works too)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can (28 oz each) Hunt's® Crushed Tomatoes
• 1 can (14.5 oz each) Hunt's® Diced Tomatoes with Basil, Garlic and Oregano, undrained
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups part skim ricotta cheese (optional) 
• 1 cup shredded Romano cheese, divided
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil
• 3 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided (3 cups = 12 oz)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cool water to stop cooking. Meanwhile, spray large saucepan with cooking spray. Heat over medium-high heat until hot; add sausage and ground chuck. Cook and stir 5 minutes to crumble meat.
Add onion and garlic to pan. Continue cooking 8 to 10 minutes or until meat is no longer pink and onion is tender. Drain meat mixture well. Add crushed and undrained tomatoes, 1 tablespoon parsley, fennel seeds, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and salt. Bring meat mixture to a boil. Reduce heat; cook uncovered over medium-low heat 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Place ricotta, 3/4 cup of the Romano cheese, eggs, remaining parsley, basil and remaining pepper in medium bowl; blend well. Set aside.
Assemble Lasagna: Spray 13x9-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. Spread 1 cup meat sauce evenly over bottom of dish. Place 3 lasagna noodles over sauce, top with 2 cups meat sauce, half of ricotta cheese mixture and 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers ending with a layer of noodles topped with sauce and the remaining mozzarella and Romano cheeses.
Spray underside of aluminum foil with cooking spray; cover dish tightly with foil. Bake 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 15 minutes or until cheese melts and sauce is bubbling. Let stand 10 minutes before serving

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Here is a super easy and healthy recipe for a Strawberry Banana Smoothie. It tastes really good and can be made anytime of the day. You can decide how sweet you want it by adding more or less honey. Here the link to the recipe, Strawberry Banana Smoothie


Ingredients: 

• 1 cup (250 mL) milk
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) frozen strawberries
• Half banana
• 1/4 cup (50 mL) plain yogurt
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) liquid honey

Directions:

Blend all of the ingredients together in a blender until smooth. 

Rice Krispie Peanut Butter Balls

This recipe for Rice Krispie Peanut Butter Balls is super easy to make. They taste so good
and were gone within days. These are a bit messy to make but its worth it. Here is a link to the recipe,Rice Krispie Peanut Butter Balls. 

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup icing sugar
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
• 1/3 butter or margarine melted
• 4 cups Rice Krispies
• 3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine 
• 1/4 cup hot water

Directions:

Line one baking sheet with waxed paper . In large bowl, mix icing sugar, peanut butter, coconut and melted butter or margarine together until well blended. Gently fold in Rice Krispies cereal until well coated. Form into 1" balls. To make the rolling of balls easier, use lightly dampened hands. Refrigerate on baking sheet for 30 minutes. 
To makes chocolate dip; In medium saucepan, over low heat melt chocolate chips, remaining butter and water together. If mixture is a bit thick for dipping add 1 to 2 tablespoons more hot water. 
Using two forks, drop a couple of peanut butter balls in chocolate mixture. Roll balls around in chocolate mixture to coat in chocolate. Chill on waxed paper lined baking sheet until chocolate is set. 

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Dessert- Chocolate Layered Brownie Trifle

This is my step mom's famous Brownie layered trifle recipe! I made this over the Christmas Holidays for dessert for my extended family and it was a huge hit! The recipe calls for toffee bits but I just chopped up a couple skor bars and it was even better! Enjoy! ITS SO GOOD                

1

box (1 lb 2.3 oz) brownie mix

Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on brownie mix box

1

tablespoon instant coffee granules or crystals

1

box (4-serving size) chocolate fudge instant pudding and pie filling mix

2

cups cold milk

1

bag (8 oz) toffee bits

1

container (8 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed

Heat oven to 350ºF. Grease bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with shortening or cooking spray.

Make brownie mix as directed on box, using water, oil and eggs and adding coffee granules. Spread batter in pan. Bake as directed on box. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

Cut brownies into 1-inch squares. Place half of the squares in bottom of 3-quart glass bowl. Make pudding mix as directed on box for pudding, using milk. Pour half of the pudding over brownies in bowl. Top with half each of the toffee bits and whipped topping. Repeat with remaining brownies, pudding, toffee bits and whipped topping.

         

Cover; refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving. Store covered in refrigerator.

P.S. I`m sorry Ms. Marcus I know its not healthy but I had to share it!

Homemade Christmas Turkey Stuffing

This is my Grandmas home-made stuffing recipe. I was able to learn how to make this during Christmas time. This is my favourite thing to eat over the holidays so I decided to make it for my food blog! sorry its late enjoy!

10 cups of dried bread pieces
1 medium onion
1 cup butter
Dried Sage
Poultry Seasoning
3 eggs
1 cup milk

Place dried bread pieces in a large bowl the night before you are going to cook you turkey.  Sprinkle generous amounts of sage and poultry seasoning on to bread and mix thoroughly.

Fry chopped onion and butter till onion is softened.  Pour over bread and stir to mix.  Cover bowl with a clean tea towel and let sit overnight.

Before stuffing in to turkey, whip eggs and milk together and pour 1/2 over bread mixture.  Add more seasoning if desired.   Add remaining milk and eggs as needed.  Stuffing should stick together but not be soggy.  Stuff the dressing in to the turkey.

Nutritious Snack - Strawberry Funky Monkey Shake

Here's something healthy and nutritious that is so simple to make, tastes like a great treat but isn't bad for you! I was shocked with the turn out. It tastes so amazing and gives you lots of energy. So if you're feeling low and need a boost MAKE THIS!

In a blender or Magic Bullet add the following ingredients:

3-4 sliced frozen strawberries
1 frozen banana
1 tbsp smooth peanut butter
1/2 tsp coco
1 heaping scoop of vanilla protein powder
1 cup milk

Blend together.  Enjoy!

Main Dish - Steelhead Trout

STEELHEAD TROUT

1 lb steelhead fillet, with skin
1 clove garlic, chopped fine
1 lemon, juice of
1/2 teaspoon dried dill
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus
additional oil, for greasing baking pan


Directions:
Prepare a baking pan by lining it with foil and brushing it with olive oil.
Preheat broiler. Mix together all remaining ingredients except fish into a well-blended paste.
Place fish skin-side down (if it has skin) on baking sheet, then spread seasoning over flesh.
Bake at 350°F for 15-20 minutes, or until fish is cooked through in the thickest portion.
Serve with steamed vegetables, and rice.

**This fish also tastes great when wrapped in tinfoil and BBQ.

International Food- Lasagna

I had the opportunity to make some Lasagna for my family. I learned there is an art to it and it is not easy to make so I needed some help from my parents but it turned out pretty good! Enjoy!  

1 Pound of extra lean ground beef
1 (32 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
32 ounces cottage cheese
2 eggs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons dried parsleysalt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
9 lasagna noodles

1) In a large skillet over medium heat brown the ground beef. Drain the grease. Add spaghetti sauce and simmer for 5 minutes.
2) In a large bowl, mix together the cottage cheese, 2 cups of the mozzarella cheese, eggs, half of the grated Parmesan cheese, dried parsley, salt and ground black pepper.
3) To assemble, in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish evenly spread 3/4 cup of the sauce mixture. Cover with 3 uncooked lasagna noodles, 1 3/4 cup of the cheese mixture, and 1/4 cup sauce. Repeat layers twice. Top with 3 noodles, remaining sauce, remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Add 1/2 cup water to the edges of the pan. Cover with aluminum foil.
4) Bake in a preheated 350 degree F(175 degrees C) oven for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Turkey Quinoa Soup

This recipe was the first one I have ever used quinoa for. It turned out to be really good but the quinoa was a bit overcooked making the soup a little big thicker and mushy. Overall it tasted great! Here is the link to the recipe, Turkey Quinoa Soup :)

INGREDIENTS AND INSTRUCTIONS:

• 1 cup carrots, diced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3/4 cup celery, chopped
• 2 tbsp butter

Chop the above vegetables and place in a soup pot. Saute for 8 min., or until the onions start to turn opaque. Add the remaining ingredients and continue to saute until the quinoa starts to become slightly toasted.

• 1 tsp thyme
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/4-1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cup quinoa

After a few minutes on medium heat, add the chicken stock and noodles and continue to simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the noodles and quinoa are soft. After they are soft, add the shredded turkey or chicken, the cream (or half & half) and the parsley. Season with extra salt, pepper and cayenne pepper as needed. 

• 7-8 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup small shell noodles
• 3-4 cups leftover turkey (or chicken)
• Pint heavy cream, half & half or milk
• 1 tsp parsley
• Dash cayenne
• 1 cup frozen peas (optional, adds extra color if you wish--just add the last few minutes of cooking time)

Baked Oreo Cheescake

Who doesn't love Oreo's and cheesecake? So I decide to make Oreo cheesecake. I have always heard making a baked cheesecake can be a challenge but it turned out perfect and was delicious. Here is a link to the recipe, Baked Oreo Cheescake Recipe. 

Ingredients: 

36 OREO Cookies, divided
1/3 cup  butter or margarine, melted
3 pkg.  (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
3/4 cup  sugar
1 cup Sour Cream1 tsp.  vanilla
4 eggs

Directions: 

HEAT oven to 350°F.

CRUSH 26 cookies to form fine crumbs; coarsely chop remaining cookies. Mix crushed cookies with butter; press onto bottom and 2 inches up side of 9-inch springform pan.

BEAT cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with mixer until blended. Add sour cream and vanilla; mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended. Stir in chopped cookies. Pour into crust.

BAKE 55 min. to 1 hour or until center is almost set. Run knife around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim. Refrigerate 4 hours.

Cinnamon Stars

We always make them at home in switzerland, so I thought I could make them here in my canadian family. I really love these cinnamon stars.

Ingredients:

• 2 2/3 cups finely ground almonds
• 1 tbs ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1/3 cup egg whithes
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 3/4 tsp lemon juice

Directions:

1. Stir together the almonds, cinnamon, and lemon zest until combined.
2. Beat the egg whites and salt until soft peaks form. Slowly sift in the confectioner's sugar, continuing to beat until the mixture is stiff. Set aside 1/3 cup of the egg white mixture for the glaze. Fold in the almond mixture.
3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (170 degrees C). Line the cookie sheets with parchment paper.
4. Roll the dough to 1/4 inch thickness on a surface that has been sprinkled with confectioners' sugar. Using a 2 1/2-inch star cookie cutter, cut out the cookies and place them on the cookie sheets.
5. To make the glaze, add the lemon juice to the reserved egg white mixture, stirring until smooth. Brush the tops of the cookies lightly with the glaze. (If the glaze starts to thicken, add a few more drops of lemon juice.)
6. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. When done, they will be light brown and soft in the center. Remove and cool on wire racks.

Main Dish

Satay Chicken Pizza

Yummy Pizza and easy to make.

Ingridients:

• 1 tbs vegetable oil
• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, chopped
• 1 cup prepared Thai peanut sauce
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 4 small (4 inch) pita breads
• 4 slices provolone cheese (you can use other cheese if you want)

Directions:

• Heat oil in a skillet over high heat. Saute chicken pieces in hot oil for 6 to 7 minutes. Do not overcook!
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• To Assemble Pizza: Spoon 1/4 of peanut sauce onto each pita. Sprinkle 1/4 of the browned chicken and 1/4 of the scallions on top of each. Top each 'pizza' with 1 slice cheese. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Let stand for 1 to 2 minutes outside of oven before you cut with a pizza cutter.

Multicultural 

English Crumpets

You need a little bit time for those english crumpets. I haven't had them befor, but they tasted good.

Ingridients: 

• 350ml semi-skimmed milk, warmed but not boiling
• 450g all purpose or plain flour
• 5g dried yeast
• 2 tsp sugar
• 350ml finger-warm water (approx)
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1tsp baking powder
• Vegetable oil for cooking

Directions:

• Whisk together the milk, flour, yeast and sugar. Once combined add half the water and beat into the batter, continue to add more water until the batter is thick and smooth. Stop adding water once it reaches the consistency of thick cream. Cover with cling film and leave in a warm draft free place until foaming - about 1, up to 2 hours.
• Whisk the salt and baking powder into the batter then heat a heavy based frying pan on the stove to hot but not smoking.
• Dampen kitchen paper with a little oil and grease the base of the pan and a crumpet (or pastry) rings measuring 3"x 1 ½" (8 X 3.75cm) approx. If you don't have any pastry or crumpet rings then use a small, washed food can to the same measurements.
• Place one ring in the heated pan, add enough batter to fill just below the top of the ring. Cook for five minutes when there should be many tiny holes on the surface and the crumpet is setting. Flip the crumpet over and cook for another two – three minutes.
• Repeat with the remaining batter until used up. Rest the crumpets on a wire rack until cool and reheat in a toaster or under the grill before serving. Serve with lots of butter and/or jam.

Christmas Sugar Cookies

Ingredients: 

• 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
• 2 cups white sugar 
• 4 eggs 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions: 

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.

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Nasi Goreng

Nasi Goreng is from an Indonesian background. It turned out well, but I decided to serve the eggs separately.

Ingredients:

Conimex Nasi Goreng spice mix
400g chicken breast
100g diced bacon
Chopped onion
400g rice

Directions:

Cook the rice
Add mix to 100g boiling water
Fry the bacon and add chicken
Add onion
Add mix and 2 eggs and cooled rice and warm throughout

Rice and Chicken Dish

For the Main Dish category I made what my family calls "Rekker Rice Dish", we call it that because the family who gave us the recipe is the Rekkers and we don't have a better name for it. Because we got it from another family I have no idea where the original recipe is or came from.

Ingredients:

2 to 2.5 lbs. meaty chicken pieces                                             

½ cup chopped onion                                                                     

½ cup chopped green pepper                                                   

2 cloves minced garlic                                                                     

1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes                                                       

1 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained                        

1 cup tomato juice

1 cup frozen whole kernel corn

2/3 cup long grain rice

 1 tsp. chili powder

½ tsp. salt

 ¼ tsp. ground red pepper

Paprika 

Directions

In a large saucepan cook onion, green pepper and garlic in hot oil until tender, but not brown.  Stir in undrained tomatoes, black beans, tomato juice, corn, uncooked rice, chili powder, salt and ground red pepper.  Bring to a boil.  Transfer rice mixture to a 9 x 13 baking dish.  Arrange chicken pieces on top of rice.  Sprinkle chicken with paprika.

Bake, covered at 375 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until chicken is tender and no longer pink and rice is tender.

Serve with sour cream. 

This is always a hit with the whole family. The night I made it we had a family over who had five kids under the age of 8 and all those kids liked it too, I think that speaks for itself. Great family meal!

Bavarian Soft Pretzels

For the Multicultural I decided to make a snack. I've had a soft pretzel before, but didn't know that they were easy to make at home! I got this recipe from makingfriends.com, not exactly the website name you think would produce great food, but I'd let the food speak for itself. Don't judge a website by it's name?


Ingredients

•  1 package of dry active yeast

• (2 teaspoons)

• 1 1/2 cups of warm water

• 1/3 cup of brown sugar

• 4 1/2 cups of flour

• 4 cups of water

• 8 tablespoons of baking soda

• Coarse salt 

Instructions:

• Dissolve yeast in 1 1/2 cups of warm water. Mix in brown sugar and flour. Knead until smooth and elastic.
• Preheat oven to 475 F. Pull off fist fulls of dough and roll out on a lightly floured surface to a long 3/4" rope. Cut into 1" pieces. Set aside to rise for a few minutes.
• In a large saucepan mix 4 cups of water with baking soda. Bring to a boil. Place a single layer of pretzel pieces in the boiling solution for 20 seconds. Spread out the pieces on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Sprinkle on salt. Baked for 8 minutes or until golden brown.

These turned out great! I made bite sized pretzels. They didn't take too long to make either. I made a half recipe because it looked like a lot (and I didn't want to waste ingredients on a faulty internet recipe), but if I had made big pretzels I might have needed to do the whole recipe. I will definitely make them again! My faith in internet recipes has been partly restored...

Nasi Goreng

Nasi Goreng is from an Indonesian background. It turned out well, but I decided to serve the eggs separately.

Ingredients:

400g chicken breast
100g diced bacon
Chopped oinion
400g rice

Directions:

Cook the rice
Add mix to 100g boiling water
Fry the bacon and add chicken
Add onion
Add mix and 2 eggs and cooled rice and warm throughout

Multicultural

Italian Bruschetta

INGREDIENTS:

2 large tomatoes, coarsely chopped 1/2 sweet onion, chopped 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano

1 teaspoon chopped fresh basil 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley 1/2 (1 pound) loaf Italian bread, cut into 1 inch slices 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2.	In a medium bowl, combine tomatoes, onion, olive oil, oregano, basil and parsley. Place bread on a baking sheet, and top with tomato mixture. Sprinkle with Parmesan.
3.	Bake in preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until bottom of bread is browned. Allow to cool 5 minutes before serving.

Barking Crackers

This is a kind of snack that is fairly traditional for Christmas in my house.

Ingredients:

40 (plus) soda crackers*
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar, packed
12 ounce package (2 cups) semi-sweet chocolate or butterscotch chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a jelly roll (15 x 10-inches with sides) pan with foil and grease lightly. Completely line pan with crackers. Boil butter and brown sugar for 3 minutes. Stirring constantly. Pour mixture over crackers. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven. Sprinkle chips over pan. Let chips soften so they can be evenly spread. Sprinkle nuts over top. Refrigerate for 1 hour and then break apart into bit-sized pieces. Store these in the refrigerator.

Nacho Dip

A very good tasting dip to go along with chips. May not be the healthiest thing but it's not bad.

Ingredients:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons taco seasoning mix
3/4 cup salsa
3/4 cup shredded lettuce
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:

Combine the softened cream cheese, sour cream and taco seasoning on a large plate or in a pie plate.

 Spread the salsa on top of the cream cheese-sour cream mixture. Top with lettuce and cheddar cheese.

French Toast

This is always a good family breakfast on Sunday mornings.

INGREDIENTS:
4 eggs
2/3 cup milk
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
8 thick slices of 2-day-old bread, better if slightly stale
Butter
Maple syrup

Directions:

1 Beat eggs, milk, and cinnamon together. If using, add orange zest and/or Triple Sec. Whisk until well blended. Pour into a shallow bowl.

2 Dip each slice of bread into the egg mixture, allowing bread to soak up some of the mixture. Melt some butter (or use vegetable oil) over a large skillet on medium high heat. Add as many slices of bread onto the skillet as will fit at a time. Fry until brown on both sides, flipping the bread when necessary.

3 Serve hot with butter, maple syrup, and if available, fresh berries.

Blast From the Pasta

   This is a main dish that my mom makes all the time so I thought I'd try it. It turned out very well.

Ingredients:

1 ½ pounds extra-lean ground beef
1 cup each chopped bell pepper and chopped onions
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes (undrained)
1 can (10 oz) cream of tomato soup
1 can (10 oz) cream of mushroom soup
½ cup milk
1 ½ tsp dried oregano
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp paprika
¼ tsp each black pepper and crushed red pepper flakes
8 oz fusilli pasta (uncooked – about 3 cups dry)

Directions:

* Cook beef over medium high heat until no longer pink. Break up any large pieces using a wooden spoon. Add peppers, onions and mushrooms. Continue to cook until vegetables begin to soften.

* Stir in diced tomatoes and their liquid, tomato soup and mushroom soup. Cook and stir until mixture is well blended. Add all remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve hot.