A good goal . . .

Let us so live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry.

Mark Twain

Oven pancake

The best way to make 'pancakes' for the family on a rushed day! It also goes well with applesauce, butter, syrup . . .

Oven Pancake 4 eggs, beaten 1 cup flour 1 cup milk 1/3 cup butter ½ teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg Lemon juice, Powdered sugar Heat a large, metal baking pan (cast iron works great) in a 425 degree oven. Mix eggs and flour, beating well. Add milk and beat. Stir in vanilla and nutmeg. Melt butter and pour into heated baking pan. Immediately pour in batter and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until pancake is brown and puffy. Remove from oven and sprinkle with lemon juice and powdered sugar to taste. Serve hot or warm. Don't worry when you puffy pancake goes by down, it is supposed to!

A favorite side dish . . .

I'm always on the lookout for interesting side dishes to go with the meat or fish dish at dinner time. My husband's rule is we need a protein, starch/carb, and vegetable on the plate. It's a great rule and it helps me line up the food each evening.

I like flavored rice but will not use the boxed stuff at the store. They are charging you a lot for a little bit of cheap rice and a package of spices. It is easier, cheaper, and better tasting to do it myself. SO, here I am sharing an idea.

1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1/2 cup chopped red or green bell pepper
4 cloves of garlic, smashed and minced
Pinch of chili flakes
1 large tomato*
1 cup long-grain white rice
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder

In a large pot with a lid, heat up the oil and add the onions, peppers, garlic, chili flakes, and cumin and cook for a few minutes to heat through. In a food processor or belnder, puree the tomato. You should get about one cup.

Add the rice and tomato puree to the saucepan and stir for a few minutes. Add the broth and rest of the spices/salt and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat, cover and simmer on low for approximately 15 minutes or until rice is tender. Let the pot sit off the heat for five minutes before removing the lid and serving.

*If you don't have fresh tomatoes, use canned diced tomatoes with equally good results.

My family like a sprinkling of either cheddar or Romano on their serving of rice.

Truth and Smiles for a Monday . . .

"I think it's always a good move to listen to that inner voice, if it doesn't lead to a crime."
-- Lisa Kudrow

"The road to hell is paved with adverbs."
-- Stephen King

"Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city."
-- George Burns

"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education."
-- Mark Twain

Our first winter storm of the season?

Well, the weatherman promises us the first winter storm of the season this week. I see some clouds forming but I won't believe it until I see it! With so many days of sunshine, our weathermen tend to go into overdrive when the possibility of a rain drop looms on the horizon.

Cooking with Salt . . . Lots of salt!

I was reading my latest copy of Cook's Illustrated and the author shared a recipe for baking potatoes in a bed of salt. His claim was that it made the potatoes taste better and improved the texture. Naturally, something out of the ordinary intrigued me and I had to try this out. A trip to one of the warehouse stores got me 25 pounds of salt for under four dollars so I was set for many, many attempts on this recipe, if needed.

The first evening, I went with the regular baked potato. I got a heavy-duty baking pan and put about 3 inches of salt into it and pressed the potatoes into it. For added flavor, I put some fresh Rosemary branches between the potatoes. I covered the pan tightly with foil and baked at 450 degrees for about an hour or until the potatoes were just tender. Then I removed the foil, brushed each potato with olive oil, and baked them for another 15 minutes. They were the best baked potatoes I ever had! The potato was almost creamy in texture and butter wasn't really needed to make it taste good. Hint: When they come out of the oven, throw a dish towel over them for a few minutes. It helps steam them a bit so they come out of the salt easier otherwise you get to do some scraping and with a hot potato . . .

My teenage son's favorite are sweet potatoes. He will forego the meat at dinner in order to have room to eat a sweet potato. Although the recipe didn't mention them, I decided to try the same procedure on them. They worked perfectly and it was less mess than wrapping them individually in foil and still having the sugar in them burning down into your oven. Both my husband and son ate less meat and more sweet potato last night.

Besides tasting great and being easy to do, it really looks impressive - like I knew what I was doing!

Regarding the pictures: The one of the left is prior to baking the potatoes. The one on the right, is the finished sweet potatoes.

An every day struggle . . .

“The spiritual combat in which we kill our passions to put on the new man is the most difficult struggle of all. We must never weary of this combat, but fight the holy fight fervently and perseveringly.”
  ~St Nilus