Mission's Conference Menu

Mission’s conference at Immanuel.  What a great time to make a meal using recipes contributed by our missionaries!  So that is exactly what I did.  (Yes, this post is long overdue.)

Menu

Tuscan Tomato Soup (p. 53)

Couscous Salad with Grapes & Feta (p. 37)

Indian Curry (p. 157)

Brownies (p. 289)

The first thing I did was make the brownies.  I did this early in the afternoon while my children were napping.  The last time I attempted to make brownies from scratch was while I was in graduate school.  My friend Beth had come over for the afternoon, and we really wanted brownies; so we attempted to make them using our common sense.  They were edible, especially to two hungry college girls, but nothing you would want to serve to company.  I was very curious as to how the brownies from the cook book would turn out.  I did not put nuts in them.  I have to admit here, time has faded my memory of exactly how they tasted.  They were definitely not like boxed brownies—not the same texture—a little more cake-like, and not quite as sweet (which is not necessarily a bad thing)!  I do remember that they were good and gobbled up by my family.  (Hmmm. . .maybe I should go make some right now to refresh my memory on what they are like.)

Next, I made the couscous salad.  I love couscous.  I was introduced to couscous by one of my graduate school roommates.  Ever since she made it for me, it has been part of my normal cooking.  It is quite versatile and simple to prepare.  For this recipe, I didn’t use boxed couscous. (I usually buy bulk whole wheat couscous.)  I used about 1 ¼ cups liquid (I don’t remember if I used water or chicken broth—I have used both so many times.), 1-2 Tbsp. olive oil, and a handful of raw pine nuts.  I brought this mixture to a boil, poured in 1 cup of couscous, turned the heat down to low, and put a lid over the couscous.  I let it sit for about 5 minutes and then stirred it to make sure all the liquid was absorbed.  After this, I followed the recipe, though I used the pine nuts as the nuts, rather than the walnuts or pecans.  I used green grapes, but this dish would be really stunning with green AND red grapes.  We usually eat our couscous as a hot side dish, but this cooler salad version was wonderful.  We will definitely be enjoying this again.

While the couscous was cooking, I also started the tomato soup.  Let me say up front that tomato soup has never been a favorite of ours.  Not that we dislike it, but rarely would any of us choose it if we had options.  (Maybe because of the many meals Brian and I made of canned tomato soup and grilled cheese when we were first married.  We were given a “pounding” by the church we attended in North Carolina and received many cans of tomato soup.  It was a blessing on many levels, but I think we may have gotten tomato souped out.)  This recipe, of course, is not your canned tomato soup.  It really was easy to fix.  I chose to use tomato juice rather than actual tomatoes and so left out the tomato paste.  The flavor was more complex than canned tomato soup—and of course, it is much healthier for you.  It really worked nicely with the couscous salad. 

While the soup was simmering, I got to work on the Indian curry.  I definitely cheated in this recipe.  In fact, you can decide for yourself if we should even say that I made this recipe.  I started with sautéing the onion in the oil (I used coconut oil).  I also added garlic, cinnamon, paprika, ginger powder, sugar, and flour.  However, as I didn’t have curry powder, I used red curry paste in place of the powder, turmeric, and cumin.  I followed the recipe the rest of the way.  I do use coconut milk when I make curry, as I think the flavor is far more interesting and delightful. 

We didn’t eat it over rice since I had made the couscous.  And we didn’t top it with anything, but it really can stand by itself.  If you have never tried to make curry, this is a wonderful recipe to start with.  You can find curry powder or curry paste in most American grocery stores now—look on the international aisle.  Red paste is more spicy than the green paste.  My kids eat the red without complaint, so unless you add a lot of cayenne or curry powder to it, or unless you are very sensitive to spicy foods, the red isn’t all that spicy. 

How fun to be able to connect with our missionaries in this way.  And while you’re cooking and eating, why not take some time to pray for them? 

A Winter's Kale

After so many beautiful winter days, a gray, rainy day finally arrived.  It was the perfect soup day.  At first I thought I would make my regular potato soup.  It’s quick and easy---I had the ingredients---but, wait.  No, I didn’t.  I was out of ham.  I did have some bacon I could have used instead, but as I looked in my refrigerator and saw some kale I had just bought, I remembered a recipe I had seen in the IBC cookbook—something involving kale and potatoes.  So I looked it up and decided to make a new soup recipe instead.

Menu

Hearty Potato Sausage & Kale Soup (p.48)

Garlic Bread (storebought)

I did not have hot Italian turkey sausage, but I did have turkey breakfast sausage; so I used that instead.  It worked and used up something I had, but next time I will plan ahead to make this soup and buy the spicy sausage.  I put the onion and garlic in to sauté after the meat and then added homemade turkey broth instead of the chicken broth (because it was what I had).  I also added two leeks as they were in my produce drawer and needed to be used before they went bad.  Once they were cooked, I took my immersion blender and blended up the veggies as I personally don’t care for large chunks of onion.  (It’s a texture thing with me. . .and since I was cooking, I went with my preferences.)  Once that was blended, I put in the chunks of potato.  Ah!! Yet another recipe where I don’t have to peel potatoes.  I let those cook for a few minutes and then put in the kale. 

Kale might scare some people, and for those of you who know me well (or at least knew me when I was younger), I’m sure you are shocked that I would willingly buy kale.  I first bought it 2 years ago after a friend of mine posted a recipe for kale.  I never got up the nerve to try it, so the kale went bad and I threw it away.  I know how good kale is for you, though, so when I got a cookbook that had recipes using local/farmer’s market food and saw a recipe for kale chips, I thought, “It is time to try this again.”  So off I went to buy kale.  This time, however, I made the recipe for kale chips and they were a BIG hit with my family.  Andrew & Brian, and even I loved them!  (Not to mention a close bachelor friend we had for dinner.  Thanks, Tom, for being my guinea pig. . .)   Since that time, I get kale on a fairly regular basis and make kale chips.  I hadn’t used it in any other way up to this point, though.  This soup is a GREAT way to introduce kale, as you can chop it up so finely that you might think it is parsley or some other familiar, non-threatening green.  The texture and taste are both negligible and you are getting all the good nutrients!  (Well, most anyway.  I guess some probably cook out, but I would imagine they remain in the broth.)

It was time for me to begin my afternoon of teaching at that point, so I put the soup on low to simmer while I taught.  Technically, this soup is not an all-day soup.  But I had to just leave it as I teach through the dinner prep time and even into dinner time on Mondays. 

At 6:00, I have the changing of the students, and so while one was getting ready for her lesson, I went in and added the milk, sugar, pepper, and nutmeg.   I didn’t have any bouillon cubes, so I just left those out.  I also only put in about 2-2 ½ cups of milk rather than the 4 cups.  Once it got heated through, Brian dished it up for the kids and added the crumbled bacon and cheese to the top.  When I finished teaching, I was able to enjoy a bowl.  My children ate it without complaint.  (My daughter had 2 bowls!)  It is definitely one I will make again.  I do think it needed a little bit more pizzazz, which is why next time I will use the hot Italian sausage.  The rest of the flavors were fine. 

So next time it feels like a soup day, give it a try!

Hearty Potato Sausage & Kale Soup                                          Lois M.

1 (20 oz.) pkg hot Italian turkey sausage         4 c. whole or 2% milk

4 slices bacon                                                2 tsp. chicken bouillon granules

1 med. onion                                                 1 tsp. sugar

2 cloves fresh garlic                                       1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

2 med. potatoes                                             1/4 tsp. nutmeg

2 cans chicken broth (4 c.)                             Parmesan cheese

2 c. chopped fresh kale, washed 

        and stems removed  

Remove casings from the sausage. Dice bacon and brown in a large 4 to 6 quart pot. Remove bacon and drain, keeping the rendered bacon drippings in the pot. Brown the sausage in the pot with the bacon drippings over medium heat, breaking up the sausage links into small pieces as the sausage browns. (Tip: Turkey sausage is so lean that you need the bacon drippings to brown it.) 

Chop onion and garlic cloves and saute in the pot with browned sausage until soft. Scrub potatoes thoroughly, cut in lengthwise quarters, then in 1/4-inch crosswise slices with the peel. Put potatoes and chicken broth in the pot with the sausage, sauteed onions and garlic and cook 5 minutes, scraping bottom of the pot frequently.

Add the prepared kale and cook 15 minutes more. Stir in milk, chicken bouillon, sugar, cayenne pepper, nutmeg and drained bacon and bring back to heat while stirring to prevent the milk from scorching.  Serve topped with fresh ground Parmesan cheese with a tossed salad and crusty Italian bread on the side. Makes about 10 cups soup.

Trying something new

I am attempting to add the recipes into the blog for those of you who might not have the IBC cookbook but want to try the recipes.  I'm not certain as to the best way to do this, so I am trying a couple things.  I have a second page now where you can find the recipes.  (I have only added a few so far.)  Also, if you click on the name of the recipe you want to try, it should take you to the correct page.  You might have to scroll down to find the actual recipe, but hopefully it will be there.  I would love your feedback as to if this works for you OR if you know a better way to do this.  I'm definitely learning as I'm going, so any advice is appreciated.  Thanks!

Random Recipes

I’m baaaack.  Happy New Year! 

Life leading up to Christmas is crazy for everyone, and seemingly doubly busy for musicians.  Hence, I have 4 meals ready to blog about.  I had plans to write the posts over the Christmas/New Year break, but ended up using my time differently.  So here we are, finally getting around to writing about meals I have already made. 

On three different days in October, I made a recipe from the cookbook.  Since I didn’t really do a complete meal, I thought I would combine the three in a random post. 

The first recipe is Mild & Sweet Red Bean Chili (p.46).  I wanted chili, and I chose this recipe because I had all the ingredients and could make it quickly before I went to a party and then played at a wedding.  It ended up simmering quite a bit longer than 30 minutes (more like 4 hours).  I also made the very yummy and very unhealthy store-bought Texas Toast to go with it.  The chili was warm, delicious, and eaten down quickly by my family.  It is a good recipe for those with young children or those who might not enjoy spicy foods, as it lives up to the name of Mild and Sweet. 

One Saturday, I made The Kingsleigh Inn Granola (p.322).  I have needed to make granola for awhile and just haven’t gotten around to it.  I have a recipe that I really like, but decided I would try one out of the cookbook instead.  I did substitute cashews for pecans since I had those and didn’t have the pecans.  I also used sunflower seeds, not pumpkin seeds.  I used Coconut oil and raw honey.  My almonds, cashews, and sunflower seeds had all been soaked and toasted previously.  I over-baked it, so it was a little bit well-done tasting, but other than that, the flavor was quite good.  I will definitely make it again and try to hover over the oven in an attempt not to let it burn.

My third random recipe was a potato soup recipe (Potato-Cheese Soup, p. 49).  It was very easy to make.   I used actual chicken broth rather than cubes.  I loved the fact that it called for red potatoes with the skins on—not only does this add vitamins, but it also keeps me from having to peel potatoes!  Also used in this recipe are leeks.  

If you have never cooked with leeks, I highly recommend that you go get some and try them.  They look like very large spring or green onions.  I was introduced to them about 2 years ago and have incorporated them into my cooking ever since.  My favorite use for them is with potatoes.  (I use them in all kinds of soups and once made a Potato-Leek Gratin dish that was amazing.)  When cooking with leeks, you do need to give them a thorough rinse, and maybe even rinse a couple times as dirt will get down into the middle layers and not come out until you peel off the outer layers or slice up to the dirt.  But a little dirt never hurt anyone, right? 

I usually make my potato soup (well, my mom’s potato soup) with some ham in it.  I also have started adding dill or rosemary.  I don’t normally put cheese in it, though I do top it with cheese frequently.  Adding the cheese to the actual soup was a nice change for the palate.  My family devoured it within minutes. 

And speaking of soup—I made another soup last night.  But I’ll save that for another post on another day.  Happy cooking!

Spur of the Moment

Spur of the moment.  That's what tonight's supper was.  Well, not really.  I actually pulled chicken out to thaw yesterday knowing I would use it for tonight's supper.  But the chicken was the only thing I had planned.  My son had been begging for cookies with M&M's in them and I remembered seeing a recipe in the cookbook that used M&M's, so I figured we could make those today.  While caring for a sick little girl, the last thing on my mind was a well-balanced meal (or pictures, for that matter, so no pictures this time).  So the menu ended up looking like this:

Menu

Poppy Chicken (p. 161)

Tossed Salad (no recipe)

Monster Cookies (p. 306)

While I was cooking the chicken tenders, we started mixing up the cookie batter.  Now, I didn't have butter OR crunchy peanut butter.  So I called the recipe contributor and asked her opinion about using Crisco instead of butter.  She said that her family always used part shortening in their cookies so to go ahead and try it.  Instead of peanut butter, I used creamy almond butter.  The cookies were probably not as sweet as they would have been had I used peanut butter (since what I used had no sugar in it), but they were plenty sweet enough for us.  Judging from the information I got over the phone, the cookies probably would have been a little softer if I had used butter.  Mine weren't hard or crunchy (except for the second round that I put in to bake after dinner while we were playing a game---and then promptly forgot about.  So those went into the trash.), but neither were they "moist and chewy," as we say in my family.  These are a GREAT cookie to make for special occasions or when you really are craving an all-around good cookie.

After the first batch of cookies came out of the oven, I put in the Poppy Chicken.  I had mixed the rest of the ingredients together while the cookies were baking.  I often make what I call "Poppyseed Chicken," and when I make it, I mix the poppy seeds in with the sour cream and soup.  I also usually use a little chicken broth and put some cayenne pepper in it for seasoning.  This time I made it according to the recipe.  It was good.  We all enjoyed it.  It didn't have the same kick that the one I usually make does (because of the cayenne), but it still had plenty of flavor.  It was also interesting having the poppy seeds on top rather than in the mixture.  Not a big deal either way, just interesting.  If you've never made a chicken casserole like this, I would highly recommend trying it.  It is easy, filling, and has a wonderful texture. 

Now, I think I'll go have a cookie.  

Special Delivery

Writer’s block.  I can’t figure out how to start this entry.  Nothing profound or clever is coming to mind.  The reason for this may be partially due to the fact that I didn’t get to eat any of what I made.  I was making a meal for a couple who just had a baby and decided it would be a good opportunity to make more recipes from the cookbook.  I can’t tell you how they turned out as far as taste, but they smelled and looked good!

Menu

Pineapple Casserole (p. 65, top one)

Green Beans with Tomatoes (p.77)

Ruth’s Chris Potatoes (p. 80)

World’s Best Pork Loin (p.165)

Storebought Mini Boule

The easiest recipe was the Ruth’s Christ Potatoes, but that was because I had made it for our family the day before and made enough for both meals at that one time.  So, I guess I did eat one thing I made. . .and it was quite delicious.

The pork was very simple to prepare and smelled fantastic.  I almost cut some off to taste it, but I showed restraint and saved it all for my friends.  I love that this recipe is  prepared and cooked inside aluminum foil as it made clean-up super easy.  This would be a good dish to fix on a Sunday morning, especially if your oven can be timed to turn on at a certain time. 

The pineapple casserole was also easy to make.  I lined my baking dish with foil so that I could lift and transfer the casserole to a disposable container.  I have started using disposable containers when I take meals to people so they don’t have to worry about washing and returning extra dishes.  I know many of you do that already, as I have experienced your generosity and fabulous cooking!  But back to the casserole.  The recipe says to mix pineapple, 5 T. sugar, flour, sugar, etc.  However, it should read “mix pineapple, 5 T. juice, flour, sugar”, etc.  After it baked and cooled, I lifted it out and put it into a different container.  It worked beautifully. 

The last thing I prepared were the green beans.  The mixture looked quite lovely and colorful.  It is always a pleasant change to have a fresh, new way to prepare a standard food.  I wrote instructions on how to heat up the food on the lids of the containers.  Hopefully, they were able to enjoy the foods almost as if they were right out of the oven.  I have seen the couple since, and they look fine, so at least I know I didn’t poison them.  And for those of you who are so faithful in serving others through meal preparation, thank you!  Your labor of love does not go to waste---(there is a pun in there somewhere. . .)!

Take Two

Oh, the frustration!!  I finally got around to writing about the dinner I made from the cookbook this week only to have my computer crash and lose it all!  And no, I can’t recover the document; it kept sending up messages saying it couldn’t auto save, etc.  I had opened my original post talking about how I loved cooking and eating but didn’t enjoy writing so much.  Oh, the irony!  So here I am, writing this post again.  (Should I also mention I have about 3 other posts to write?  Why write when you can read or knit?)

Since I’m so far behind, I will work backwards and start with this week’s menu.

Menu

Chicken Cordon Bleu (p. 150)

Ruth’s Chris Potatoes (p. 80)

Pumpkin Bars (p. 291)

(I have just saved what I’ve written so far. . .) I started with the chicken.  Since some of our eating habits have changed, our family has a hard time eating an entire chicken breast; so I used chicken tenders.  The conventional chicken breasts seem to be getting bigger and thicker—have you looked at a chicken recently?  There is no way that what is in some of those packages is natural.  And when I discovered that the companies don’t have to disclose on the package if they add water or sodium fillers, I started changing the way I buy chicken.  Right now, I like Trader Joe’s choices.  (I would love to get a chicken directly from a farm; but until that happens, I will be content with what I can find.)  So, I lined the bottom of the casserole dish with chicken tenders and then followed the recipe exactly as is in the book.  (Press save here.)

I have made traditional chicken cordon bleu before.  It is one of my favorite ways to eat chicken, but I do not enjoy preparing it.  I don’t enjoy pounding the poultry, spreading the layers, rolling the poultry, putting in toothpicks, and dredging it in egg and then bread crumbs.  And when you are trying to keep peace and order in that post-nap/pre-dinner part of the day, who has time to do all that anyway?  But I was committed to making this recipe and doing that if I had to.  You can imagine my extreme delight when I discovered that all this recipe called for was layering everything on top of the chicken!  So simple!  And the flavor was just as savory as I remembered.  The texture was slightly different; a little more like a casserole than the traditional cordon bleu, but for a family meal, who cares?  Certainly not I, and neither did my husband or my son.  I think they may have enjoyed it even more.  This dish would work quite well for company or to take to a pot-luck.  (Press save here.)

Next I made the potatoes.  I chose this recipe because I didn’t want to peel potatoes, and the recipe didn’t say one had to do that.  The trickiest thing about making this recipe was scrubbing the potatoes and then slicing them.  You do have to “babysit” these potatoes a little bit in order to uncover them partway into the baking process and then add the cheese.  But in my opinion, that’s fairly easy to do.  And who can go wrong with potatoes, garlic, and cheese? 

The pumpkin bars were a little more involved and not just because I had a little help in the making of them.  I put the mix into an 11x7 pan just as the recipe said, only to discover that it made the bars really thick.  I went ahead and baked it that way though, as I am trying to follow the recipes.  Since the mixture was so thick, I ended up baking it for 45-50 minutes rather than the 25-30 the recipe suggested, and the middle was still slightly gooey.  If you make this recipe, I would recommend putting it in either a 9x13 pan or even splitting the mix between two smaller pans.  The smell of the pumpkin and the spices baking was wonderful, and the taste was everything a fall recipe should be—but really, any excuse to eat cream cheese icing will work for me!

(And save.)