Hard Boiled Eggs

Maybe I'm the only one who has to look in my cook book when I hard boil eggs once, maybe twice a year. So here is what you do

Place eggs in a single layer in a pot. Cover with cold water one inch above eggs. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to just below a simmer, simmer for 15 minutes.

Cooking with Kids

My two year old loves to dump and scoop EVERYTHING.  So, he really likes to help me in the kitchen.  Mostly we make cookies because that involves a lot of measuring and dumping (another good way to learn to count!).  What I'm wondering is what else do you cook with your kids?   What do they like to cook themselves and what are fun foods kids might enjoy cooking?  I get worried if he wants to help with something over the stove, so sometimes I don't know how to let him help, but he always wants to be right where I am.  I really want him to learn to enjoy to cook and see what a fun and rewarding experience it can be.  

Canning Peaches

You'll need:

Ripe peaches (about 3-4 per jar)
White sugar
Boiling water
Clean quart jars and lids/rims
large stock pot

1. Peel peaches. You may dunk peaches in boiling water briefly to make peeling easier. Cut peeled peaches in half.
2. Make a solution of 1 cup water to ½ cup sugar. Heat to boil and stir till sugar is dissolved. Then remove from heat.
3. Sterilize jars and lids with boiling water. (this means you need to boil water and put about a cup in each jar, and swirl it around, even for new jars. Lids are done by placing in boiling water for a minute or so. Lids can only be used once to seal.)
4. Pack peaches into jars all facing one direction to the bottom ring of the jar. (this just makes them pretty, if they face in 1 direction)
5. Add sugar solution to top ring.
6. Place lids on jars securely(use tongs so you don’t contaminate them) and seal with rims. (rims can be used over and over again)
7. Place jars in large stockpot. Fill pot with plain tap water to just cover jars.
8. Bring water to boil and cover with lid.
9. Boil 20 -25 minutes.
10. Remove jars, place on counter to cool.
11. Test lids (after jars have completely cooled down) to see if they are properly sealed. You know the jars have sealed if they don’t give on the top. Unsealed jars can be resealed using a new lid or eaten promptly.

This is how many I did one morning, with some help! Note: the blue pot is one we used to can in. That's all you need. You DO NOT need a pressure canner or water canner to do this.

I hope I've described everything. It has just kind of become habit for me now so I have a hard time remembering if I got every thing. If you have any questions, leave a comment and I will comment back. Good canning!

I have to make dinner, again?

Now that we are getting nicer weather I have loved being at the park in the afternoons...and so have my kids!! It's fun to ask the other moms..."what are you making tonight?" By the time we get in from the out there's not much time to whip anything extravagant together. So here is a list of dinners that are a cinch to make...hence there are no real recipes attached...just good old easy ideas. I think sometimes it takes me longer to think of what to make than to actually make it. Here's some ideas with things people could have on hand, who spent too long at the park and need to whip something together quickly.


Idea #1--"The Pizza spin-off" English muffins topped with your favorite pizza toppers and baked until the cheese oozes.

Idea #2--"Cheesadillas" Fry a tortilla in a buttered pan with cheese and lunch ham inside (yes, we speak spanish in our house occasionally but for some reason quesadilla just sounds more fun when we call it a cheesadilla with a spanish accent.)

Idea #3--"The mac 'n cheese spin off" Cook some pasta, drain it, add some butter and some Parmesan cheese (NO! NOT THE GREEN CAN OF YUCK...I'm talking real Parmesan cheese grated) while it's still hot.

hmmm...what did everyone eat for dinner tonight?

FYI

Sorry, I've really been a bloggin slacker. I haven't posted any recipes or made comments, I really apologize.... not that anyone is missing my words, but I still feel bad. As I've been blog stalking lately, I ran into this really fun cooking site. I really like to cook, and I love looking at new recipes. This site is all about that, with really fun pictures, and the blogger is very humorous. I really like reading it. So, check it out here - at first, I thought this lady might be LDS, but I don't think she is. The site is called Pioneer Woman Cooks. She is always joking about how she lives in the country.... I haven't figured out where that is, but she says some pretty funny stuff, and since I'm from the country, maybe that's why I relate or think it is funny. Anyhow, hope you enjoy!

Bean Cake?!

I just heard this great idea for "healthifying" some of your baked goods. In anything that has a cake-like texture (cake, cupcakes, muffins, quick breads, pancakes, even biscuits), you can swap all of the fat (i.e. butter, shortening, oil) for mashed white beans! Just think, this adds protein and fiber while reducing the fat. I am so excited to try it! Let me know how it works out if any of you do. The swap is completely even, so no need to figure out conversions.

a Cook'n necessity

This is one of my favorite Christmas gift, its normally 99.95 but on sale right now for 79.95. You can also download it but I don't know if its cheaper or not, I like having the the actual softward. I use this all the time, well in the month that I have owned it now. It is a recipe organizer and it can: (copy and pasted from its website)

Search thousands of recipes--just tell it what you have on hand
Organize your own recipes
Adjust serving sizes automatically
Analyze nutritional value of your recipes
Build weekly menus
Display hundreds of food photos
Make grocery shopping lists
E-mail recipes to your friends
Print recipes on decorative cards
Publish your recipes in html for web browsers
Download recipes & shopping lists to your Palm Pilot!
Show preparation video clips
Search the internet for coupons

I have one folder that is filled with my mom and family recipes and then I have one folder that is just my recipes. It is so easy to use and so fun. One of my favorite features is that it adjusts the serving sizes, to often I make way to much food because I can't figure out how to reduce it properly so you tell this how many servings you want and it does all the math for you and gives me a recipe to make for 2. Once you register your software it will automatically update it with more recipes, and you can by other recipe cd's to go with it. I have Cook'n low carb, Cook'n chinese and one other that I can't remember. But seriously if you have this you will love it. The website is www.dvo.com

Chicken Shredding

Okay, here's the scoop. I had a couple people ask me about when I cook chicken in my crockpot so here's what I do:

I buy a HUGE bag of frozen chicken breasts at Costco, and I hate getting the big bag out of the freezer where it is tucked so nicely every time we have chicken. Plus, cooking frozen chicken is a long process and I'm all about simplicity.

Then, I put like 5 or 6 breasts in my crockpot and pour like 1/4 c. of water over it, just to moisten the tops. Then sprinkle them with salt, pepper, and a little dehydrated onion.

Cook it until it is done, it usually takes about 5-6 hours on low in my crockpot, but I know everyone's may be different. When it is done, it is so moist and juicy that most of the time, I have to scoop it out of my crockpot because it won't stay on a fork.... so, scoop it out and just shred away with a knive and a fork. My sister has a friend who swears the best way to shred chicken from the crockpot, like this, is to use your (electric) hand mixer - just stick it in the crockpot and turn it on and it does all the shredding for you. I've never tried this, so if you do, let us know how it works out.

Once it is all shredded, I just put it in small snack or sandwich size ziplocs and freeze it again. Then.... I use it for EVERYTHING and it is quick! My favorite things to use it for are: pizza topping, enchilada filling (just add it to the sauce), chicken stir fry, Cassi's chicken roll-ups, etc.... you get the picture. So, how was that for a LONG wordy post on the simplest thing ever?

PS - I also buy a huge thing of hamburger from Costco and cook all that before I freeze it- it honestly saves me a ton of time. Plus, all you have to do when you want to use it, is dump it into whatever you are doing, or season it for tacos or whatever. I LOVE it - it makes great quick meals

Deceptively Delicious

So, I don't usually get to choose any shows during the day (whenever they t.v. is on we're watching Sesame Street or our new favorite Super Why), but since Rachel took an extra-long nap yesterday I caught Oprah. She had Jessica Seinfeld on talking about ways to hide vegetables into meals. We've actually been really lucky with Rachel being willing to eat vegetables, but I thought this was a great idea to make sure that your family is getting enough vegetables without having to nag your kids to eat. Basically all she does is puree steamed veggies (carrots, cauliflower, etc.) once a week and keeps the purees in plastic baggies in her fridge to add to whatever she's cooking. She then just adds at least one puree to the meal (depending on the color so it doesn't look weird for the kids). She has put together a cookbook of all types of recipes that incorporate these purees, but she said that you can really add them to anything (scrambled eggs, mac and cheese, brownies). I was just excited because making the purees is pretty much how I make baby food anyway, so when I start doing it for Ian I'll just double it to also put in our meals - well, if it doesn't taste crazy! Anyways, if you'd like to learn more, check out her "Deceptively Delicious" tips.

IDEAS FOR TIME SAVING MEALS WITH YOUR FREEZER

Okay, I have no idea what to call this post, but it seems I've had freezer on the brain! When my mother in-law was here, she saw how much stuff I ridiculously try to cram into my small freezer. I'll admit, I'm a freezer junkie, but it just save so much time and energy... and food! So, the day she left, she paid for half of a chest freezer for us. I was SO thrilled, it is just the right size and I'm loving the extra freezer space. So, here goes, my favorite ideas for freezer stuff:

1. Celery: I buy a bag of celery hearts from Costco (I think there are 4-5 for about $3.00), then I leave one out and chop the rest, put it in snack size ziplocs and freeze them. Then later, I can use them in soups, stir fry, lasagna... whatever

2. About once or twice a month, I cook a bunch of chicken in my crockpot, shred it, bag it and freeze it. Talk about easiest meals ever!!!

2 1/2. When I buy a huge package of hamburger at Costco, I cook all but a handful, bag it in small ziplocs, freeze it and then it is ready for whatever I want to do with it, soup, tacos (just add the seasoning), etc.... you get the idea

3. dry beans: you can get a bag of dry beans for less than a dollar. Since beans are a long process, I cook a whole bag at once, put them in little ziplocs, freeze them, and then use them in soups, casseroles, salads, just like I would out of a can. (We never eat the whole can at once, and this way, I get a lot more for my $)

4. Pizza dough: Trader Joes has awesome pizza dough for 1$. Or, you can make your own, double the batch and freeze half of it in a ziploc. Before you want to use it, just get it out in plenty of time for it to thaw on the counter. It works great and saves the mess of making dough everytime you make pizza (we make pizza a lot!)

5. It seems like fruit (especially banans) ripen insanely fast here in MN. So, when my bananas get too soft, I peel them, sometime I slice or moosh them, or just leave them whole, bag them and freeze them. THen you can use them for banana bread, and smoothies.

6. I just heard this idea, I havn't tried it, so if you do, post a comment and let us know how it worked out. My friend in Rochester has an apple orchard, she said she picks her apples, peels and slices them, and then freezes them. She says they work great to cook with, and don't really turn very brown. She loves to use them like this in apple pies, apple crisp, etc. Sounds like a great idea to me!

I've decided freezing food is a great way to go, if you need more ideas or recipes for food I fix and then freeze, let me know!