"Christmas Bars"

My dad and his brothers looked forward to these bar cookies every year at Christmas. Despite the name "Toffee Squares" they neither contained toffee, nor were cut into small squares. So they started calling them "Christmas Bars". Sticking with tradition, I make these for the holidays, and sometimes a batch for Kevin on his birthday…which is coming up, in fact!

Chocolate Toffee Squares (a.k.a. Christmas Bars)

1 c. butter (2 sticks)
1 c. brown sugar
1 egg
2 t. vanilla
2 c. flour
12 oz. chocolate chips
1/2 c. chopped nuts (optional)

1. Beat butter and brown sugar together until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat well.
2. With mixer, beat in 1 cup of flour; then stir in a cup of flour by hand.
3. Spread evenly into UNGREASED 9x13 baking pan.
4. Bake 15 minutes at 350˚.
5. Melt chocolate and spread over baked crust.
6. Sprinkle with chopped nuts, if desired.
7. Cut bars while chocolate is still warm.

Polish Stir-Fry

I gave this a funny name because I didn't know how else to describe it. If you want an easy and quick meal, this one is definitely for you.

Polish Stir-Fry

1 pkg. Skinless Turkey Sausage (or Polish Kielbasa), cut into bite-sized chunks
1/2 head cabbage, chopped/shredded
1/2 Vidalia onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, pressed/minced

1. In a large skillet, sauté onion until it starts to look clear, then add cabbage. Sauté until cabbage begins to brown.
2. Add sausage chunks and garlic; continue cooking until meat is warmed through (you don't need to cook it; maybe just brown it a little).
3. Serve with fresh sliced apples on the side. And a big glass of milk, which somehow finishes the meal just perfectly.
   

NOTE: I have tried adding other ingredients to this recipe, and it's best when it is kept simple, as listed above. However, I will grant you permission to adapt it to suit you own taste...

random amusements

Do you have a favorite coffee mug? Do you have a few that only you are allowed to use? Do you cry if one breaks?!

Coffee mugs

Does it seem like morning comes too fast? Did you stay up late reading last night? Are you almost too tired to drag your ass out of bed today? Is it foggy and raining where you are, too?

Am I ever going to quit with the questions?!

Ah, you just need a cup of coffee. Don't worry about it. Drink your coffee.

I have several "favorite" coffee mugs. I keep them segregated from the everyday coffee mugs. Seriously, they have their own shelf in the cabinet above the coffeemaker. I admit it: I'm selfish with my coffee mugs. Like the child who wants the bite of food off of your plate instead of his/her own, I would want to use the coffee mug I just gave you, should I be foolish enough to decide to share. Can't help it…take it or leave it, that's the way I am.

But I will share that big pot of coffee I just made. No problemo. Have all the coffee you want. Just not in MY mug. None of them.

I'm really not a possessive person. I just have this weird quirk about my mugs.

There are several in the regular drinkware cabinet that you can choose from, however. Nice ones, too. A pair from a Florida restaurant called "Shells" with a colorful logo on the front. Two Starbuck's mugs that I pilfered from a previous job place (company folded, so it's irrelevant; plus, the statue of limitations has passed!) There are two clear cobalt Starbuck's mugs that I'll allow you to use, too. And we have a set of standard white mugs that came with a set of dishes, I think…?…they may be Stonewall Kitchen ones, so those are good quality mugs. I don't know why you'd have to use one of MY mugs. *rolls eyes*

Don't worry about it—just drink your coffee…

Here are some photos:

There's a Swede in my kitchen…

…it's me. I'm part Swedish, from my dad's mother's side of the {dysfunctional} family.

When Amy passed away, she left behind a green index card file box that contains many decades of collected recipes; some from her own Swedish mother, and many that she just accumulated from newspaper clippings. Uncle Kevin has located this file box—which is now in my possession—and I am very carefully looking through it.

Although she was not necessarily the warmest person around, Amy did make the best blueberry pie EVER. Her spritz cookies at Christmastime were also very yummy; and, don't forget the 'famous' Chocolate Toffee Bars, known to my dad and his brothers as "Christmas Bars."

From my childhood, I recall going to her house at Easter, where she always made this cake that looked like a bunny…don't know if I care to replicate that one, as it was….ah, what's the right word?…not bad, just…gimmicky? I dunno, perhaps the locusts nextdoor would be amused by it? In which case, you may see bunnycake photos here early in April…

The only other thing I can specifically remember about her cooking—remember, we were never close—was her roast beef, which was very tasty. And I know the secret to that one, so I'll have to share that with y'all later.

"Y'all"….hmmm, doesn't sound very Swede, huh? Are there rednecks in Sweden, I wonder? Sounds like a joke: what do you call a Swedish redneck? LOL. I'll have to ask Anders Eriksson about that one when he comes over to help me with landscaping this summer… ((inside joke/hockey reference))

Enjoy the photos…more to follow, along with recipes as I test them.

Recipe request — low-carb appetizers

My good friend Amy was looking for something to make that wouldn't completely derail her diet when she went to a club meeting where temptations would lie in wait. I made a few suggestions—including deviled eggs—and then decided I'd post a couple more things to help her out…

Deviled Eggs

10 hard-boiled eggs, allowed to cool
1/2 c. Hellman's Light Mayo
1 to 2 t. yellow mustard, depending on your own taste
dash of salt, to taste
paprika for garnish

1. Peel eggs and cut them in half, lengthwise. Carefully scoop yolks out, into a small mixing bowl, and arrange whites on a platter or tray.
2. Smash egg yolks with a fork to break them up, then add mayo and blend until lumps are gone. Add 1 t. mustard and salt; blend and stir to mix well. Taste it, and decide if you want more mustard tang to it or not.
3. Using the fork (yolk mixture will stick to a spoon too much!) fill egg white shells with the yolk mixture. Try to get them as evenly filled as possible, but understand that they'll never be perfect. Don't obsess!
4. Sprinkle with a dusting of paprika to garnish, but don't over-do it, or they can taste bitter with too much paprika.
5. Be sure to cover with plastic wrap or seal in an air-tight container in the fridge until ready to serve. They will taste better chilled, FYI.

Spinach Dip

1 c. Hellman's Light Mayo
1 c. Breakstone's Reduced-fat Sour Cream*
1 pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained well
1/2 c. Parmesan
1 can water chestnuts, chopped fine
2 T. chives (dried; not fresh)
1/2 t. salt dash of garlic powder

1. Mix sour cream and mayo together in a bowl.
2. Add spinach and stir well to blend.
3. Add Parmesan, water chestnuts and chives; mix well.
4. Add salt and garlic powder; taste, and adjust seasoning as needed.
5. Serve with raw veggies such as: celery sticks, baby carrots, broccoli and cauliflower florets, cucumber slices, whole fresh mushrooms, and radish halves.

* NOTE: Ironically, the Breakstone's Reduced-fat has less carbs than the Fat-free.

Croustade Appetizers

These bread shells—or croustades—can be used with any number of fillings that your imagination can come up with. In the past, I put a mushroom-cream filling in them and they were especially well-received by party guests.

Apricot & Goat Cheese Bites

12 pieces bread (white or wheat)
1 pkg. (4 oz.) plain goat cheese
1 clove garlic, crushed/minced
1 jar apricot preserves

Using a rolling pin, flatten a slice of bread completely. With a 2-inch biscuit-cutter, cut out 2 rounds from the flattened bread.


Press cut-out bread into well of a mini muffin pan. Repeat to use all bread. Save scraps for another use.


Place an empty muffin tin on top of the filled one, to keep the bread shaped into the correct form.

Bake at 400˚ for 5 to 10 minutes, until browned and crispy. Keep an eye on them! Remove to wire racks to cool.

Mix goat cheese with garlic in a bowl.

Fill each "croustade" with a goat cheese and a dab of apricot on top.
Serve immediately.


Mini muffin pan, and individual tartlet pans:

Southwestern Chicken Chili w/ Biscuits

I made this dinner to take next door, and it was devoured by "the locusts," and greatly enjoyed by all. You can put your own little twists on it, depending on taste preferences.

Southwestern Chicken Chili w/ Biscuits

2 to 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
1 T. olive oil
1 can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes
1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste
1 c. water
1 package chili seasoning mix (your choice of hot or mild)
1 can (15 oz.) black beans
1 can (15 oz.) red beans
1 1/2 c. biscuit mix
1/2 c. corn meal
2/3 c. milk (or buttermilk, if you have some on hand)
1 c. shredded cheddar

1. Heat oven to 425˚.
2. In small mixing bowl, mix biscuit mix with cornmeal and milk. Set aside.
3. Sauté cubed chicken in olive oil until meat is white on all sides.
4. In 9x13 baking pan, mix chicken with tomatoes, tomato paste, water, seasoning, and beans.
5. Bake chicken mixture for 20 minutes, then carefully remove pan from oven, and drop biscuit mix to form separate mounds on top.
6. Return to oven for 10 to 15 minutes until biscuits are browned.
7. Sprinkle with cheese before serving.

NOTES: You can add canned green chilies to spice this up. Use more, or less chicken, depending on how many people you intend the dish to feed. Also, if you choose, you can mix the cheddar into the biscuit mix to make cheesy biscuits on top.

I love postatoes...

Yes, I meant to say "pos-tatoes"...just a quirk of mine—I don't even know why I say it.
Somewhere I have a recipe for a twice-baked potato casserole, which I will have to track down, cause it's really good, too. But these are yummy:

Twice-Baked Buttermilk Potatoes

2 large baking potatoes
2 T. butter, melted
1/2 c. buttermilk
1 c. sharp cheddar, finely shredded
1 T. fresh minced chives –OR- 1 t. dried chives
1/4 t. garlic powder
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
paprika for garnish

1. Microwave the potatoes until tender but still firm, about 4 minutes.
2. Allow to cool—at room temperature, they have less chance of falling apart when you scoop them out.
3. Heat oven to 350˚.
4. Scoop out the centers, leaving a firm, 1/4-inch-thick shell.
5. Mash the scooped part in a small bowl, then stir in the melted margarine, buttermilk, and seasonings.
6. Fill the shells; dust the tops with paprika.
7. Bake at 350˚ for 15 to 20 minutes, or until heated through.

Grandma's Baked Beans

I have not made these in years...not sure why. It's a really tasty recipe, and it warms up your house, leaving a delicious cooking fragrance to linger. We won't talk about what happens *after* you eat the beans... ;-)

Grandma's Baked Beans

2 lbs. dry navy beans, soaked in cold water overnight
1 sweet onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 c. molasses
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 T. soy sauce
2 t. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 t. dry mustard
8 oz. uncooked bacon, chopped
4 T. butter (no substitutes)

1. You've already soaked the dry beans in cold water overnight. Now, drain beans and place in large oven-proof stockpot (grandma would have used a big cast iron pot). Add enough water to cover the beans by 1/2 inch (maintain this throughout cooking).
2. Over low heat, simmer beans about 30 minutes.
3. Heat oven to 300˚.
4. Stir all other ingredients—except butter—into beans, put lid on pot, and bake for about 3 hours, stirring to check the consistency once in a while. Add water, if needed—you don't want them to dry out.
5. Remove lid, stir well, add butter on top, and bake an additional 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until a nicely browned surface forms.

NOTE: upon serving, be sure to warn people they're HOT—they just came out of a 300˚ oven!

Favorite Salad

This recipe is an amazing combination of not only flavor, but of texture as well. Everyone I have served this to has been floored by its simplicity and fantastic taste. It's JST's favorite salad ever…need I say more? LOL!

Pear Salad with Poppyseed Dressing

12 ounces salad greens (such as red leaf, green leaf, butter, or romaine mix)
1 1/2 c. (8 ounces) feta cheese, crumbled
2/3 c. pecans, chopped
2 fresh pears, peeled, cored & sliced (ripe but still firm is best)
1 c. seasoned croutons – optional
1 jar (15 fl. oz.) T. Marzetti's Poppyseed Salad Dressing

1. Prepare greens by rinsing, drying, and tearing any larger leaves into bite-sized pieces.
2. Toss the feta and pecans into the greens. (add croutons if you'd like)
3. Arrange the pear slices on top of the salad, and if you are not serving the salad immediately, lay a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the salad so that the pears do not discolor.
4. Serve with T. Marzetti's Poppyseed Salad Dressing.

Sweetcream Biscuits

This is kind of a lot of work if you're not accustomed to making your own biscuits. But it is totally worth it in the end.

Sweetcream Biscuits

1 3/4 c. sifted flour
2 T. sugar
1 T. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
6 T. (3/4 stick) chilled butter, cut into pieces
3/4 c. chilled whipping cream

1. Preheat oven to 450°.
2. Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into large bowl.
3. Using pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles crumbs.
4. Add whipping cream and stir until just combined; do not over-mix.
5. Turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead just until dough forms.
6. Pat out dough to 1/4-inch thickness (no rolling pin required; they don't have to be perfect!). Cut out rounds using floured 1 1/2" diameter cutter.
7. Gather dough scraps and pat flat to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out additional rounds. Repeat gathering, patting, and cutting out dough rounds until all dough is used.
8. Transfer rounds to ungreased baking sheets (you can crowd them a little).
9. Bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Makes about 6 dozen!

Useful Tools: Pastry Blender

This item is something that no baker should be without. Whether you're planning a quiche crust, shortbread cookies, or even meatloaf, the pastry blender is your best friend.

Useful Tools: Pastry Blender

How many times did you have to read this line before someone finally explained it to you?: "Cut butter into flour."

THAT is what you use a pastry blender for! AH-HA!

Following your recipe, you'll want to put the measured flour in a bowl first, then measure out the correct amount of butter for the recipe. Cut it into slices and drop them haphazardly into the flour.

Grab your pastry blender!

Squish the butter by pressing down ruthlessly, lift pastry blender, and deliver another blow. Keep doing this, and move some of the flour around, until you stop seeing the chunks of butter. Eventually, what you will end up with is a moist-looking flour that's kinda lumpy.

Success!


IN STORES:
K-Mart: Wilton Pastry Blender
Bed Bath & Beyond: OXO Good Grips; and Wilton Pastry Blender
(NOTE: I didn't actually LOOK at these stores, but they are supposed to have them in stock.)

ONLINE:
Pastry Blender 5.25"x4.5"

"Pasty Pro" Pastry Blender Sale: $14.99 (regular $19.99)

"Pasty Pro" Pastry Blender by Kitchen Innovations

Baker's Pastry Blender by Wilton

Pastry Blender (5-in.) Good Grips by OXO

Pastry Blender (5.25-in.) by Cuisipro

Stainless Pastry Blender by Johnson-Rose Corp.

A confession...

...I just killed the Itsy-Bitsy Spider!

You know the one: climbed up the water spout, et cetera, et cetera? Well, not any more.

His last climb happened to be up the mirror in my master bathroom. I was flossing a bit of, well, something out of my teeth, and movement caught my eye. Before I knew what I was doing, my thumb landed right on him, and SQUISH...

I would say I'm sorry, but I'm just not that big a liar. I hate spiders. Even the itsy-bitsy ones.

There's a particular scream I involuntarily produce when I see a spider, in fact. My husband calls it "the bug noise" and comes running with a kleenex whenever he hears it. It's a very high, blunt, and desperate sound, which could most closely be found in nature when your wet sneaker skids on a supermarket linoleum floor. Yeah, sorta like that. Maybe a little bit more human-vocal-range, though. I'm not Mariah Carey, you know.

Please don't tell your kids. I don't want them thinking I'm a murderer. Keep singing the song as if this episode never happened, okay? Thanks.


~Goldie

Kelly's Crab Dip

This is an amazing appetizer dip! I first tasted it at a friend's house, and just had to get the recipe from her. One tip she gave was to be sure you buy the more expensive crab meat because it is worth it.

Kelly's Crab Dip

2 pkgs. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
2 T. lemon juice
1 t. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 t. garlic powder
1 t. chives, chopped
2 cans Polar white crab meat
1 bottle cocktail sauce

1. In medium bowl, mix cream cheese, lemon juice, W sauce, garlic and chives.
2. Spread in serving dish.
   
3. Top with cocktail sauce in an even layer.
4. Top with crab meat, flaked onto top in a layer.
5. Serve with melba rounds or crackers.

Qu'est-ce que c'est?

Qu'est-ce que c'est?
What is this? Why is this here? Why do I have this?

So what's with the holes in the knife blade, eh?

It's a cheese knife. It is made for slicing soft cheeses—like Muenster, mozzarella, or brie—without the cheese sticking to the knife. The holes help it release after you've made your cut through the block of cheese.

It also works well with any other type of cheese that you'd like to slice up and snack on: cheddar, Monterey Jack, Colby, Swiss, brick, or Gouda. Makes it much easier to quickly and evenly slice through the cheese without the typical "pile ups" that would result with your paring knife.

I can't recall where I got that particular knife, but I've had it for years. Sometimes I use it to slice tomatoes—if you look closely, you'll see that it has a very finely serrated edge. And the forked tip makes it useful for stabbing cheese chunks to drop into a pot of sauce that you have on the stove.

A cheese knife. An all-around good thing to have in your kitchen.

Enchilada Casserole

I make this when I know that a lot of people are coming over. Some friends have similar recipes that they call "Mexican Lasagna". It's different from a traditional lasagna, and feeds a crowd, with some left over.

Enchilada Casserole

2 lbs. ground turkey
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1 pkg. Old El Passo taco seasoning (that's just the brand I choose)
1/2 c. water
1 can (15 oz.) Old El Passo enchilada sauce (again, that's just the brand I choose)
1 can (15 oz.) refried beans
1 can diced tomatoes
2 to 3 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 large package corn tortillas (make sure they are corn and not flour)
+ sour cream, hot sauce, guacamole as toppings

1. Heat oven to 400º.
2. Brown meat and onions; mix in taco seasoning and 1/2 c. water. Set aside.
3. In large mixing bowl, combine: beans, 3/4 of the enchilada sauce and tomatoes.
4. Cut corn tortillas into quarters, or tear into random pieces.
5. Butter bottom of LARGE casserole dish, then spread a thin layer of enchilada sauce.
6. Place a layer of tortilla pieces, haphazardly, 2 or 3 pieces deep, to make a base for the casserole.
7. Layer as you would a lasagna: bean mixture; add a layer of cheese. Top that with a layer of tortillas, 2 deep. Add 1/2 of the meat mixture, layer of tortillas, top that and layer with cheese; repeat.
8. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes, or until you see the sides bubbling and cheese is melted.
9. Serve with sour cream, hot sauce, and/or guacamole.
   

NOTES: If you want, you can chop a couple of tortillas into little strips and put them on top of the casserole, where they will brown a little and get crispy; but be cautious, because they can burn easily. Alternative: top with crushed Tostitos/Doritos after baking.

Strength in Numbers

INTRO

This is a new feature that I'd like to post here on a regular basis. Strength training is something that I find therapeutic—it helps keep me balanced both physically and mentally.

Hopefully, I can teach you something which you may not have already known, offer some challenges, and possibly motivate you to work at gaining a little strength.

What I'm not going to do is preach to you about exercise—please tell me if it ever sounds that way—nor will I berate anyone about being "fat". All I will do is say that you could probably benefit, health-wise, from gaining some strength.

Weight, to me, is a relative term, anyhow. I don't even look at the scale. Seriously! Even when I go to the doctor, I close my eyes and tell them to write it down and reset the scale to zero before I'll open my eyes again. One time, when the doctor asked me to get on the scale, I jokingly said, "I don't want to…" and he wrote "refused" on the chart! I didn't know you could do that! LOL!

So, anywho, in the next few weeks, I'm going to gather some info (make some lists!) and probably break it down into these categories: A) basics; B) cardio; C) new stuff; D) challenges. I'm thinking the "challenges" will be an interactive feature…which I have not decided yet how that'll work…but it should be interesting. I'll just ask you to do something for 3 days in a row, and see who can do it. Something like that.

Any input you'd like to offer will be considered.

~Goldie

Lists, lists, and more lists!

I have this compulsion for making lists of things. All kinds of things. Sometimes, I'll put my list in an Excel spreadsheet, so I can click a button and sort my list. Does anyone else have this strange neuroses, or is it just me...?

I'm not even sure where this strange affliction came from, because the rest of my immediate family is horribly disorganized. Perhaps that is the cause?! LOL!

Here is a short...well....LIST of some of the things I have been making lists about:

• results of the poll on this site
• recipes I want to post
• GROCERIES!
• B-vitamin dosages
• B-vitamins available at Walgreen's, GNC, and Vitamin Shoppe
• protein shakes available at GNC and Vitamin Shoppe
  
• Nexxus hair products
  
• things to do
  
• spring cleaning I need to start on (our windows are filthy!)
  
• book wishlist
• pens that I like
  
• the nicknames I have for some hockey players (i.e. Brian Rolston = "Purina")
• trees I want in our yard (most have a check mark by them! YAY!)
• kitchen tools I want
• song lyrics to look up
  
• words to translate into French (don't ask, LOL!)
• bill-pay check-list (printed out and on the wall by my desk)
  
• new strength training exercises to try (I may make a site feature out of this)
• coffee to look for at the import store (Kimbo!)
  
• people I need to call
  
• upcoming birthdays (some people never forgive you when you forget!)
• birthday gift ideas
  
• things to look up online
• topics of interest to research and find books about (I really love books)
  
• things I still can't find since we moved
• household items that need to be repaired or replaced
  
• clothes I need to replace (I hatehate all of my shirts!)
  

Wow, that's a lot of stuff, huh? So much to do... Ah well, it keeps life interesting! And, once you have it in a list, you can use a red pen to make check marks next to the items you've completed. It's so satisfying to see a list with a bunch of check marks.

*sigh*

Okay, I'll stop now. I just wanted to get that off my chest.

Mocha Custard

My mom used to make this when I was a kid, which may have been one of the early influences in my love of coffee.
OPTIONS: Double the recipe, and pour into ready-made graham cracker crust. This makes a really awesome pie!

Mocha Custard

1 pkg. (2.9 oz.) Jell-O Cook & Serve Custard mix (not instant)
2 c. milk
1 egg yolk, beaten
2 t. instant coffee (I use Maxwell House)
2 T. cocoa
1/4 c. sugar

1. Mix all ingredients together in small saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly with whisk.
3. Pour into individual custard cups, cover with plastic wrap, and cool in fridge.

Tea...

In the evenings, I think a nice hot cup of tea can be very soothing. Whether you prefer a classic English breakfast tea, or a Ceylon, or something herbal, there are endless options with which to fill your mug.

As with coffee, I don't consider myself any kind of "expert" when it comes to tea, but I know good flavor when I taste it. Here is a list of some of my favorite teas, in no particular order:

• Gevalia English Breakfast
• Stash
• English Breakfast
• Chai Spice
• Christmas Morning (seasonal)
  
• Hoilday Chai (seasonal)
  
• Decaf Chocolate Hazelnut Tea
• Decaf Creme Caramel Tea
• Decaf Pumpkin Spice Tea (seasonal?)
• Decaf Raspberry & White Tea
• Decaf Vanilla Nut Creme Tea
• Decaf Vanilla Chai Tea
• Organic Cascade Mint
• Decaf Raspberry & White Tea
  
• Twinings
• English Breakfast
• Ceylon Orange Pekoe Tea
• Irish Breakfast
• Cinnamon Apple Breakfast
• Cherry Black Tea (hard to find!)
• African Rooibos
• 1706 Tea
  
• Ahmad English Breakfast
• Harney & Sons Orange Pekoe
• TeaGschwendner Cherry Black Tea
• Adagio Cherry Ceylon Tea
• The Republic Of Tea Lucky Irish Breakfast Tea