Sourdough Pancakes

You need to start this the night before you plan to make them.

Sourdough Pancakes

Overnight Sponge:
1 cup sourdough starter, unfed
2 cups King Arthur unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tbsp sugar
2 cups buttermilk

Stir down your unfed starter and measure 1 cup into a large mixing bowl.  Stir in the flour, sugar and buttermilk.  Cover and let rest at room temperature overnight.

Pancake Batter:
All of the Overnight Sponge
1/4 cup melted butter
2 large eggs
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

In a small bowl or mixing cup, beat the eggs and melted butter. Add to the overnight sponge mixture and stir to mix.  Add the salt and baking soda, stirring to combine.  The batter will poof up and start to bubble!  (It's alive!)

Spoon the batter onto your hot, buttered griddle and cook until the pancakes start to bubble and get dry on the edges, then flip them and cook until done. Serve with butter and syrup.

Since this was my first time making Sourdough Pancakes I wasn't entirely sure what to expect.  They were tasty, a little bit of a sour bite on the tongue, but good.  They were a lot thinner than the pancakes I usually make...almost crepe-like, with a pretty lacy look as they browned.

Recipe from the King Arthur Flour website.  You can use the same batter for waffles, which I will be trying soon!

Cinnamon Carrots

Cinnamon Carrots

1 bag ready-to-cook baby carrots, washed
4 Tbsp butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup boiling water

Preheat the oven to 350^F.

Place the baby carrots in a 9x9" baking dish.  Cream the butter, sugar, cinnamon and salt.  Stir in the boiling water until blended and pour over the carrots.  Cover the dish with foil and bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

They smelled better than they tasted.  I might try them again, omitting the boiling water entirely to get a more sauce-like consistency.

From tasteofhome.com

Creamy Herbed Pork Chops

Creamy Herbed Pork Chops

4 pork chops (3/4-1" thick)
Montreal Steak Seasoning
3 Tbsp butter
2 1/2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 heaping tsp chicken bouillon granules
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp black pepper
Garlic Salt to taste
2 cups milk

Preheat oven to 350^F.

In a large, heavy skillet, melt the butter.  Season the pork chops with Montreal Steak Seasoning and brown well on both sides in the skillet.  Remove the chops to a casserole dish.

Leave 3 Tbsp butter in the skillet and stir in the flour, bouillon granules, basil and black pepper. Slowly whisk in the milk, to make a gravy.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture just begins to bubble.  Taste and add garlic salt to taste if desired.

Pour over the pork chops and cover the dish tightly with foil.  Bake for 1 hour.  Stir the sauce and serve with the chops.

Excellent with rice!  Adapted from allrecipes.com

Green Beans with Bacon and New Potatoes

Green Beans with Bacon and New Potatoes

1 lb fresh green beans
3-4 strips bacon
1 onion, chopped
Garlic Salt and Pepper
2 tsp chicken bouillon granules
Water
8-10 tiny red or white potatoes

Wash the green beans, snip off the tips and snap them in half.

Cut bacon into 2" pieces and fry in a heavy pot or Dutch oven. Remove the bacon and set aside.  Add the chopped onion and cook for about 5 minutes.  Add the green beans, garlic salt, pepper, bouillon and enough water to cover the beans.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 1 hour.

Add the baby potatoes and continue simmering another 30-45 minutes.  Garnish with the cooked bacon and serve.

Yummy, old-fashioned, Southern style green beans!

Maple Glazed Skillet Pork Chops

Maple Glazed Skillet Pork Chops

4 pork chops, 3/4-1" thick
Salt and Pepper
2 tbsp oil
1 cup water
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves

Heat the oil in a large iron skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking.  Season the chops with salt and pepper and brown well on one side.  Turn the chops and cook for about 1 minute.  Add water to skillet, cover and reduce heat to medium.  Cook about 30 minutes until pork is done and the water has nearly all evaporated.

In the meantime, combine the remaining ingredients and whisk until well blended.  Pour over the pork chops and reduce heat to low for about 5 minutes or until the glaze thickens.

Tasty! Adapted from a Cook's Country recipe.

Horseradish Chive Bread

Horseradish Chive Bread

4 tbsp salted butter, softened
1 tbsp Kraft Horseradish-Dijon mayonnaise
1 tsp freeze-dried chives
6 slices sourdough bread

Preheat the oven to 375^F.

Cream the butter, mayo and chives and mix well.  Spread generously on each slice of bread and place on a baking sheet.  Bake for 5-7 minutes or until hot and slightly toasted.

Awesome bread!!!

Beef Bourguignon Noodle Soup

Beef Bourguignon Noodle Soup

3 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 lbs lean beef stew meat
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Salt and Black Pepper, to taste
2 slices bacon, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp dried thyme
1 1/2 cups red wine
32 oz carton low sodium beef broth
Water
16 oz pkg egg noodles

Heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat.  Place the beef cubes in a plastic bag with the flour, salt and pepper and shake to coat.

Cook the beef cubes in the oil until well browned all over.  Remove to a plate.

In the same pot, cook the bacon and chopped carrots about 5 minutes.  Add the onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally for about 5 more minutes.  Stir in tomato paste, thyme and red wine and cook, scraping the bottom of the pot to loosen the browned bits for a minute or two.  Add the beef broth and enough water to cover the beef and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 2-3 hours or until the beef is very tender, adding water as needed to keep the level about the same.  You'll want enough liquid to cook the noodles in after the beef is done.

Bring the soup back to a boil and stir in the egg noodles.  Cook until just done (according to package directions).

Serve with Horseradish Chive Bread.

This was very good!  Adapted from Martha Stewart's Boeuf Bourguignon Soup.

Smoky Mountain Chicken

Smoky Mountain Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Garlic Salt and Black Pepper to taste
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
4 thin slices deli ham
4 slices pepperjack cheese
sliced green onions, if desired
chopped fresh tomato, if desired

Preheat oven to 350^F.  Arrange the chicken in a baking dish and season with garlic salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.  Bake 20-30 minutes until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear.

Remove form the oven and spread the barbecue sauce evenly over each breast.  Top each with ham and then the cheese.  Return to the oven for 5-10 minutes or until the cheese melts.

Top chicken with green onions and chopped tomato before serving.

The flavor was good, but my chicken breasts were tough as an old shoe.  I've noticed this often in the chicken breasts I buy at the grocery store....they don't even taste like chicken anymore and the texture is awful.  I'm going to buy whole chickens from now on and de-bone the breasts myself.

From allrecipes.com

Sausage-Veggie Roast

Sausage-Veggie Roast

4 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and quartered
4 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
1 onion, quartered
1 fennel bulb, cut into wedges
1/2 red bell pepper cut into strips
Salt and Pepper
1/2 cup chicken broth (or 1/2 cup boiling water + 1/2 tsp chicken bouillon granules)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp Italian herbs
5 Italian sausages
4 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven to 450^F.

Place the potatoes, carrots, onion, fennel and bell peppers in a large baking dish.  Combine the olive oil, Italian herbs and chicken broth and drizzle over the veggies.  Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes.

In the meantime, brown the sausages in a skillet.  You don't have to completely cook them, just get them nice and brown.  Cut them in half and after the veggies have baked for 40 minutes, place the sausage pieces on top of them and return, uncovered, to the oven for another 20 minutes or so.

Drizzle the balsamic vinegar over all and serve.

This was good....and John raved about it!  I'd add the whole bell pepper next time though.

Original recipe found on Pinterest.  

Rustic Sourdough Bread

So, now that I'm retired, I decided I'd start making my own bread regularly (instead of the chemical laden store-bought stuff).  I bought some starter from the King Arthur Flour site (supposed to be a descendant of one that's over 250 years old!) and I've been "feeding" it for the last couple of days.  The instructions were a little scary, but I did it!  I have a beautiful batch of starter in my very cute King Arthur crock - at least, I think it's beautiful!  It smells kind of yeasty and just a little sour...and good!  I almost feel like I know what I'm doing!

Rustic Sourdough Bread

1 cup "fed" sourdough starter
1 1/2 cups luke-warm water
2 1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp instant yeast
5 cups King Arthur unbleached all-purpose flour

Combine all of the ingredients, kneading to form a smooth, soft dough.  I threw it all in my Kitchen-Aid mixer and turned it on for about 5 minutes.  You're supposed to add additional flour if needed, but since I'm not entirely sure if I needed more, I just went with the 5 cups.

Rub some butter in an large bowl and put the dough into that.  Now, at this point I think I might could have used a little more flour, because it was just a tad sticky, but I got it in the bowl and managed to turn it over once so it looked kind of smooth on top.  Then I covered it with a piece of aluminum foil and let it rise for 90 minutes.  It was definitely doubled in size!

Divide the dough in half and shape into two oval loaves.  I would rather have tried putting them into loaf pans, but figured I'd stick to the recipe the first time.  I rubbed a little flour on my hands before I tried shaping the dough into ovals and that seemed to work fine.  Place the loaves on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet.  I opted for parchment-lined and I even sprinkled a little bit of cornmeal on there before I put the loaves on it.  I read that somewhere else and it sounded kind of cool...sooo, I went with it.

Cover (I used a couple of paper towels) and let rise until very puffy, about 60 minutes.  Success!

Preheat the oven to 425^F.  Slash the tops and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.  I'd also read somewhere that you should put a pan of hot water in the bottom of the oven to create steam and that you should occasionally mist some water over the bread while it bakes.  I put in a pan of water, but the misting was too much for me to handle without advance planning.  I don't have a mister bottle, but I guess I'll have to go buy one now!  I checked mine at 25 minutes and it was done!  Remove from the oven and cool on a rack.

Check it out!

I have bread!  Nice fresh, home-made Sourdough Bread!   I'm so proud I could spit!  I rubbed a little butter over the tops because John told me that's how his Mom used to do it.  Aren't they pretty?

And they taste so much better than the Sourdough I buy at Publix!  I'm calling this one a winner!

Fudge Pie

Fudge Pie

1 (9-inch) graham cracker crust
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 325^F.

Combine the sugar, flour, cocoa, butter, eggs and vanilla and beat until well mixed. Spoon into the crust and bake for 25-30 minutes or until set.  Cool to room temperature and serve with whipped topping or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Hmmm...this was a big disappointment.  First of all, it took closer to 45 minutes for it to set, which made the crust really hard.  There wasn't enough filling to fill up the pie crust and it did not taste "fudgy" in the least. The crust issue could be my fault, because the original recipe called for a regular pie shell, but I had this graham crust from Christmas that I needed to use up, so I substituted it.  I would not recommend doing that. I wouldn't recommend the filling either though, because it just didn't taste that great, no matter what kind of crust you put it in.  Oh well...live and learn.  I didn't need to eat this pie anyway!  :-)

Original recipe from allrecipes.com

Easy Spanish Rice

Easy Spanish Rice

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups long grain white rice
2 tsps chicken bouillon granules
2 cups water
1 cup chunky salsa

Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat and saute the onion until tender, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the rice and cook until it's translucent, stirring frequently.  Add the bouillon granules, water and salsa.  Stir, cover and reduce heat to low.  Simmer 20 minutes without taking the lid off.  Remove from heat and let sit, covered for about 5 minutes before serving.

Ridiculously easy Spanish Rice!  Tasty too, though I personally think it needs more spice so next time I'll add some jalapeno!  From allrecipes.com

Grilled Chilean Sea Bass

Grilled Chilean Sea Bass

4 (1-inch thick) Chilean Sea Bass steaks

1/2 tsp garlic powder with parsley

1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning

Zest of 1 lemon

1/4 tsp black pepper

Olive Oil

Butter and Lemon Juice, if desired

Prepare the grill.  We used charcoal tonight.  Pat the fish dry.

Combine the garlic powder, Cajun seasoning, lemon zest and black pepper and rub into the fish on both sides.  Brush with some olive oil before placing the fish in a grill basket and cook on the grill, turning once after about 7 minutes.  Cook another 7 or 8 minutes or until the fish is done and flaky.

Serve with melted butter and lemon juice drizzled over each piece.

I am not a fan of fish, but this was actually pretty darned good.  Nice and mild tasting with no fishy odor. John, of course, loved this!  Served with Spanish rice and sliced tomatoes.

Galette des Rois

Galette des Rois

I made this for Twelfth Night and it was delicious!  Even though I forgot to add 3 of the ingredients and was too lazy to cut the pastry into a circle as directed.  :-)

1/4 cup almond paste
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp almond extract
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 pinch salt
1 (17.25 oz) pkg frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 dry kidney bean (or plastic baby) if desired
1 egg, beaten
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1-2 Tbsp heavy cream

Place the almond paste and about half the white sugar into a food processor or blender and process until well blended.  Add the butter and remaining sugar, then blend in the egg, vanilla, almond extract and flour.  (I left out the vanilla, almond extract and the flour and it still tasted really good!  Go figure!)

Preheat the oven to 425^F.  Butter a baking sheet and set aside.

Unfold and roll out one sheet of puff pastry into an 11-inch square.  Place this square onto a large buttered baking sheet.  (You can cut it into a circle if you want to.  Me?  I'm lazy.  And squares are a good shape.)  Mound the filling into the center of the pastry and spread to within 1 1/2 inches of the edges.  You can press the bean into the filling at this point, if you're using one.

Unfold and roll out the last sheet of puff pastry same as before and place it carefully on top of the other sheet.  Firmly press down the edges all around to seal the pastry.

Beat the remaining egg and lightly brush over the top of the pastry.  Use a knife to prick several small slits in the top to vent steam while baking (I forgot to do this too!  I can't believe the thing turned out so well!)

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is a deep golden brown and it's all puffed up.  Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Combine the confectioners' sugar and enough cream to make a glaze.  Drizzle over the cooled pastry and let stand until the glaze sets.

Slice and serve.  The person who gets the bean in their slice becomes King or Queen and gets to host the Twelfth Night party next year.  If you use a bean.  I didn't, but I think it would be fun.  Maybe next year?

I wish I'd remembered to take a picture of this before it was all eaten.  It certainly didn't last long!

Ham, Bean and Leek Soup

Ham and Bean Soup

1 lb dried Great Northern beans, sorted and rinsed
1 smoked turkey wing
1-2 celery stalks, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried parsley
2 Tbsp bacon drippings (or olive oil)
2 leeks (bulb only), cut in half lengthwise and sliced thinly crosswise
32 oz carton chicken broth
Water
1 lb cooked ham, cut into bite-size cubes
Salt and Pepper, if necessary

Place the beans, turkey wing, chopped celery, onion, cumin, garlic powder and parsley in the crockpot.

Heat the bacon drippings and olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the sliced leeks and cook, stirring about 10 minutes until the smaller pieces of leek begin to brown a little.  Add leeks to the crockpot and stir in the chicken broth and enough water to cover everything by about 1 inch. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.  Stir in the ham and cook another 2-4 hours until the beans are very tender.

Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.  If you wish, roughly mash about half the beans with a potato masher to thicken the soup.  I skipped this part.

Excellent soup!

Adapted from allrecipes.com recipe called Ham and Beans and More.

Tater Tot Bake

Tater Tot Bake

1 lb ground chuck
2 tsp dehydrated minced onion
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 (10-oz) pkg frozen mixed vegetables
1/2 cup water
1 (10.75 oz) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 (32-oz) pkg tater tots
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar

Preheat oven to 350^F.  Spray a 2-quart casserole dish and set aside.

In a large skillet, brown and crumble the ground chuck with the minced onion, salt and pepper over medium-high heat.  Stir in the Worcestershire sauce then add the mixed veggies and water.  Cook, stirring about 10 minutes until the water has evaporated.

Spoon the beef and vegetable mixture into the prepared dish.  Arrange the tater tots evenly over the beef.  In a small bowl, whisk the soup and milk until smooth and pour over the tater tots.  Sprinkle the Cheddar evenly over the top.

Bake in pre-heated oven for 30-40 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and slightly browned.

My husband loves tater tots.  Me, not so much.  This casserole tasted really good, but the texture of the tater tots just did not work for me personally.  It was very flavorful though and John loved it!

Adapted from a recipe at allrecipes.com

Amish Baked Oatmeal

Amish Baked Oatmeal

1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch of cinnamon
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups quick-cooking oats
Warm milk, if desired
Brown sugar, if desired

Preheat the oven to 350^F.  Spray an 8x8 inch square pan with cooking spray.

Combine the first 7 ingredients in a bowl and whisk until well mixed.  Stir in the oatmeal and spoon into the prepared pan.  Bake for 30 minutes or until the edges begin to turn golden brown.

Scoop into bowls and serve with warm milk and brown sugar.  Berries would be fabulous with this if I only had some!

Adapted from a Gooseberry Patch recipe.

Spaghetti with Fresh Tomatoes, Basil, Black Olives and Mozzarella

Spaghetti with Fresh Tomatoes, Basil, Black Olives and Mozzarella

2 lbs ripe, vine-ripened tomatoes, chopped
1 handful fresh basil leaves, washed and chopped
1/2 cup sliced black olives
1 cup fresh salted mozzarella, cut into 1/4-inch cubes, at room temperature
4 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb thin spaghetti

Start a big pot of salted water to boil for the pasta.

In a large glass or stainless steel bowl, combine the tomatoes, basil, olives and mozzarella.  Toss with vinegar, salt and pepper and set aside.

Cook the spaghetti according to the package directions until al dente.  In the meantime, heat the oil in a small skillet and saute the minced garlic for 1 minute.

When the pasta is done, drain it and toss with the olive oil and garlic and then add the tomato mixture and toss again.  

Serve hot or at room temperature.

I found this at cooking.com and it is quite tasty!  Next time, I'll saute some chopped onion before I cook the garlic...just 'cause I think it needs some!  Maybe a sprinkle of Parmesan?

BLACKBERRY CHEESECAKE BARS

Pre-heat the oven to 350°F.  Line a 9-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving 1-inch of foil overhanging at 2 opposite sides of the pan.  You'll need this extra foil to lift the cheesecake out of the pan when you're ready to 
cut it into bars.  Spray the foil with cooking spray.  

Crust:
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
5 Tbsp butter, melted

Place the almonds in a food processor (I love my Magic Bullet for things like this!) and pulse until the almonds are mostly all ground up.  Combine them in a small bowl with the graham crumbs, sugar cinnamon and butter and stir until the crumbs look sort of like wet sand.  Spread them in the foil lined pan and press firmly into the bottom of the pan.  Bake the crust for 10-12 minutes then remove the pan but don't turn the oven off yet!

Let the crust cool while you prepare the filling.

Filling:
3 (8-oz) packages of Philadelphia Brand cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
1/3 cup seedless blackberry jam
Fresh blackberries and mint leaves to garnish, if desired

In a large bowl, beat the cram cheese, sugar, flour and vanilla on medium speed until smooth.  On low speed, beat in the eggs, one at a time, just until blended.  Pour into the crust. Spoon small dollops of blackberry jam over the 
filling and then swirl them with a knife to create a marbled effect.  Bake for 35-40 minutes or until set.  Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 1 hour.  Cover pan with foil and refrigerate at least 2 hours (or overnight).  

When you're ready to serve, use the overhanging foil to lift the cheesecake carefully out of the pan.  Cut into bars and top each with a fresh blackberry and a mint leaf to garnish.  Store, covered, in the refrigerator.

I found this recipe at bettycrocker.com  They are called Blackberry Cheesecake Bites on that site and call for cutting them into 36 bars.  Personally, that's just too small and too much work.  And my husband would laugh at me if I servedhim a piece of cheesecake that small!  So I cut this into 12 pieces and that seems just about right to me.  These bars taste SO good!  You can't really go wrong with cheesecake for dessert.  However, they took about 1 hour to completely bake and the top cracked so they didn't look as pretty as I would have liked.  But they definitely tasted good!

Li'l Slice of Heaven Cornbread

Li'l Slice of Heaven Cornbread

3 strips of bacon, finely chopped
1/4 sweet onion, finely minced
1 1/4 cups cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 eggs, beaten
8 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup honey
1 cup shredded pepper-jack cheese

Pre-heat the oven to 425°F.

Fry the bacon in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat until crispy and browned.  Remove the bacon from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.  Drain off all but about 2 tablespoons of the bacon drippings and add the minced onion.  Reduce the heat to medium/medium-low and cook the onions until caramelized.  They should be very soft, sweet and a golden brown color.  Set aside.

Cut the butter into slices and place in an 8-inch iron skillet (or an 8x8x2-inch baking pan) and place in the oven to melt while you mix the cornbread batter.  Don't put this in the oven too soon...you just want to melt the butter and get the skillet good and hot.

Combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.  Add the buttermilk, eggs and honey and stir until well mixed.  Fold in the crumbled bacon, the onions and half the shredded cheese.   Remove the skillet from the oven and carefully swirl the melted butter around the skillet sides and then pour it into the batter and stir until it's all mixed in.  Pour the batter into the still hot skillet and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.  Return the skillet to the oven and bake for about 25 minutes or until the cornbread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Allow to cool slightly before cutting and serving.

I adapted this recipe from the one found at thecozyapron.com and it is awesome!  This recipe is in my top 3 of all time for cornbread!  It's moist and tastes absolutely delicious with that caramelized onion flavor teasing your taste buds after each bite.  Excellent recipe!