A new twist on an old snack

 

MOM’S PUMPKIN PIE SPICE CHEX MIX

Ingredients

1/2 c brown sugar, firmly packed

2 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 c butter

4 tsp pure vanilla extract

12 c cereal (cinnamon chex, rice chex, corn chex, crispix, etc.)

16 oz pecans (Suzie used peanuts)

8 drops each cinnamon and clove bud EO (EO stands for Essential Oil)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

In small bowl, mix brown sugar & pumpkin pie spice; set aside. In small microwave safe dish, microwave butter on High about 30 seconds or until melted. Stir in vanilla. In large microwavable bowl, mix all cereals & pecans. Pour butter mixture over cereal mixture, stirring until evenly distributed. Add sugar & spice mixture & stir until coated.

Bake in a large non-stick pan for 1 hour. Stir every 15 minutes. When done, spread on wax paper to cool. Store in an air-tight container.

Banana Bread

 

Sometimes it pays to try a new recipe.  I tend to think that all recipes are the same and get stuck in a rut…especially with banana bread, chocolate chips cookies, brownies, etc.  There are two recipes for banana bread generally followed in my kitchen.  This may be the new ONE.  For some reason, this has a better crisp to the crust and it’s lighter than either of my other recipes.  I’m always on the lookout for a 4-H project, and had asked Angelina to try this recipe last week.  She didn’t have time, and those brown bananas on the counter were just begging to be used in something.  Here’s a picture…and here’s the recipe.  Try it for yourself!

 

Banana Bread

Ingredients:

½ c Coconut Oil – melted

1 c Sugar

1 c Mashed Bananas

2 Tbs Greek Yogurt – plain or vanilla bean

¼ c Milk

1 tsp Lemon Juice

2 c Flour

1 ½ tsp Baking Powder

½ tsp Baking Soda

¼ tsp Salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream coconut oil and sugar together. Add eggs and beat. Add mashed bananas, milk, lemon juice and Greek Yogurt. Mix thoroughly. Mix in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir until combined. Pour into a prepared bread pan (coated with oil or non-stick spray). Bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick, inserted in the center, comes out clean.

An old favorite…

 

I’ve been a Cooking Light subscriber for years – since 1998, if I remember right.  This recipe was printed in their Jan/Feb 2001 issue and was one I tried almost right away and continued to use on homemade pizza (the Chicago-Style Pizza) for a number of years.  Then I put the magazine on a bookshelf, forgot about it, moved it to the farm, and just now found it again.  The page is still marked and it’s been on my shelf for over 10 years!  Time to take it off the shelf.

Atsa Spicy  Pizza Sausage

Yield: 5 cups

 

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. ground turkey

1 lb. ground pork

1/2 cup dry red wine

1/3 cup minced fresh parsley

2 Tbl. grated Parmesan cheese

1 Tbl. fennel seeds

1 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. dried thyme

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

4 garlic cloves, crushed

DIRECTIONS: Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.  Cook sausage in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until browned, stirring to crumble.  Drain.

Note:  The sausage can be frozen in zip-top plastic bags for up to 3 months.

Just a little chocolate topping…

I used this Hot Fudge recipe as one layer in the Peppermint Torte I made today.  So, here’s the recipe.  It would be great over ice cream, too.

Hot Fudge

Yield: approx. 1.5 cups

INGREDIENTS

14 oz. Sweetened Condensed Milk

4 (1oz.) squares semi-sweet chocolate

2 Tbs. butter

1 tsp. vanilla

DIRECTIONS: Mix the first three ingredients together in a small saucepan.  Heat over medium heat until the chocolate is melted.  Remove from heat, add vanilla and stir until thoroughly blended.

Sweet (irresistible) snack

 

Nutty Cereal Mix

(I have no idea what it’s truly called because I didn’t ask for the recipe name!)

Yield: A LOT – Believe it or not, this was doubled in many of the recipes I researched.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup butter

1 cup white sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup flaked coconut

20 oz. cereal – Crispix, Rice Chex, Corn Chex, Honey Nut Chex

3/4 cup sliced almonds (toasted under a broiler until nicely browned)

DIRECTIONS: Boil butter, sugar, and corn syrup for 3 minutes. 

Measure cereal, coconut, and almonds into a large bowl. 

Pour syrup over the mixture and stir until coated. 

Spread the mixture out on waxed paper to cool.  Store in an airtight container.

Note:  The almonds can be omitted or reduced, and the coconut can be reduced, as well, to suit individual tastes.  Either way, it won’t last long!

Chocolate anyone??

 

Mom’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yield: 3.5 dozen

Note: This recipe is from my mom.  You can substitute chocolate pudding and white chocolate chips or make up your own combinations.  Chocolate-chocolate, chocolate-butterscotch, vanilla-chocolate… the list is long.  I usually eliminate nuts from any recipe, and this recipe doubles well.

 

INGREDIENTS

1 cup butter

1/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 1/4 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla

1 pkg instant vanilla  pudding

1 – 12oz. pkg. chocolate chips

1 cup nuts, chopped (optional)

 

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 357 degrees.  Cream butter and sugars.  Add egg and beat until smooth.  Add vanilla, baking soda, and flour.  Mix until ‘just’ mixed.  Add pudding, chocolate chips and nuts.  Mix together.  Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.  Let cool a few minutes on the cookie sheet.  Remove from cookie sheet to a cooling rack and cool completely before storing.

Favorite Taco Soup

 

TACO SOUP

Notes:  This recipe is from Suzie’s NE friend, Michelle M.
Servings: Approximately 12

INGREDIENTS:

2 lb. Hamburger
1 small chopped onion
4 oz. can Chopped Green Chilis
1 Pkg. (1.25oz.) Taco Seasoning (we make our own Taco Seasoning Mix)
1 pkg (1oz.) Ranch mix
2 cans (15oz.) Chili Recipe Stewed Tomatoes (I can my own Mexican Stewed Tomatoes)
2 cans (15oz.) Bush’s Hot Chili Beans (generally use the store brand)
1 ½ -2 cups Water
8oz. Mexican Blend Cheeses
1 Bag Fritos (Ranch or Chili Cheese Flavored are good, but plain Fritos are used more often at our home)
8oz Sour Cream (we use more sour cream!)

DIRECTIONS:
Brown hamburger & chopped onion, drain grease. Add chopped green chilies, beans, tomatoes, taco & ranch seasonings, and water. Simmer 30-45 minutes for best results or let it simmer in the crock pot for 4-6 hours. Serve soup over the Fritos. Then, top with cheese and sour cream.

FREEZING:
Cool completely.  Transfer to a gallon freezer bag.  Remove as much air as possible.  Double bag for safety!  Label and freeze on a cookie tray to keep the bag flat.

PREPARATION:
Thaw in the frig or in microwave.  Reheat on the stove or in a crock pot.  Serve soup over Fritos.  Top with shredded cheese and sour cream.

At your repeated request!

Blueberry French Toast

Yield: 8-12 servings

 

INGREDIENTS

12-14 slices day old bread (I used a large loaf of French bread cut into 1” cubes)

2 (8oz.) pkgs. cream cheese 

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

12 eggs

2 cups milk

1/3 cup maple syrup or honey

 

DIRECTIONS:  Cut bread into 1” cubes.  Place half into greased 9x13-inch pan.  cut cream cheese into 1-inch cubes and place over bread cubes.  top with blueberries and remaining bread.  In large bowl, beat eggs.  Add milk and syrup.  Mix well and pour over bread.  Cover and chill 8 hours or overnight.  Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.  Cover with foil and back at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Uncover and bake 25-30 minutes more or until golden brown and center is set.

SAUCE

1 cup sugar

2 1/2 Tbls. cornstarch

1 cup water

DIRECTIONS: In saucepan, combine sauce ingredients.  Bring to boil over medium heat for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.  Stir in 1 cup blueberries.  Reduce heat and simmer 8-10 minutes until berries burst.  Put sauce into pour pitcher to serve over hot dish. 

 

**This dish reheats fabulously!  We ate it almost three days in a row and enjoyed every bite.  I didn’t think to take a picture, but it looks wonderful, too.

Strawberry Scones

 

First saw these on Regan’s, then had to link  and link to find them here!  I planned to freeze them for next week, but I snuck a taste before they cooled completely.  Utterly light and delightful! 

My only issue is that the batter doesn’t make enough to completely fill my mini scone pan.  I’ll find a way to adjust and add about a quarter more to the dough (there are plenty of strawberries to accommodate) and fill the remaining 4 scone forms.  Either that or I need to make them all smaller!

My notes and changes are italicized.

Strawberry Scones

Yields: 6 large scones or 12 mini scones

Ingredients:

1 cup diced strawberries (or other fruit)

3 Tablespoons granulated sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

6 Tablespoons butter, cubed

2/3 cup half-and-half or cream or cold buttermilk*

Topping:

1 Tablespoon granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet. I used a mini scone pan.

If using larger fruit, cut into bite-sized pieces. Sprinkle fruit with ½ tablespoon sugar; set aside. Be sure to dice the pieces small or they tend to fall out of the dough. They’ll still be plenty prominent in your finished scones.

Combine remaining sugar with flour, baking powder and salt. Add butter, using a pastry cutter or 2 knives to cut in butter (you may want to use your dingers to be sure butter is evenly mixed into flour). Stir in fruit; then add cream/half-and-half/buttermilk all at once. Use spatula to gently stir dough until it holds together. I chose to add the fruit last because I didn’t want it to break up when I was mixing the dough. I also chose to eliminate the kneading, as the dough was fully incorporated by mixing in the bowl.

Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times to incorporate dry ingredients. Be gentle so you don’t break up the berries and don’t overwork the dough. Sprinkle dough with flour if it gets sticky.

Press the dough into a circle ¾ inch thick. If any berries peek out, push them into the dough. Cut circle into 6-8 wedges, then transfer wedges to the cookie sheet, leaving ½ inch of space between them.

Bake 15 minutes. Sprinkle with sugar and bake 5-10 minutes more or until the tops are beginning to brown and spring back when you push them (This took another 15-20 minutes in my oven, but keep a careful watch and check every 5 minutes – you do not want dry scones!). (The sprinkling of sugar over the top for the last few minutes of baking creates a simple, sparkly topping.) My scones were done after a total baking time of 25 minutes.

* I used slightly more (maybe 1 Tablespoon) than 2/3 cup to hold the batter together.

Awesome Jelly

Angelina's Rhubarb Jelly received a Premium ribbon at the LaMoure county 4-H Achievement Days.  Due to flooding in Minot, she won't have the opportunity to show her wares at the ND State Fair (all competition related events have been cancelled).  But this jelly is really tasty and she learned a lot.  This was her third batch of 'preserves' ... we had a little difficulty with Rhubarb Jam and fruit floating at the top, so she tried jelly with much success.

 

Rhubarb Jelly – courtesy of The Rhubarb Compendium

3 1/2 cups Rhubarb juice

1 pkg. Sure Jell powdered pectin

4 cups sugar

Make according to instructions for cooked jelly in Sure Jell instructions.  Process for 10 minutes.  Makes 6 half pints.

Rhubarb Juice

 

Rhubarb Juice

8 cups washed and diced rhubarb

8Tbls. sugar

5 cups water

Directions:  Mix all ingredients in a large stock pot.  Cook until soft.  Boil one minute.  Strain the pulp from the juice.  At this point, the juice can be used to make jelly, syrup, or canned for later use.  The red stalked rhubarb will produce a beautiful red juice, but juice made with green stalks will taste the same.  It was also suggested that nutmeg or cinnamon could be added to the juice for a different flavor.

First Fruit of Spring

My mom tells me that at the first sign of the Rhubarb poking out of the ground, my Grandpa Earl would say, "It's time for Rhubarb Pie!"  He's a fan a quite a few different pies, but the first fresh fruit pie of the season is special.  I don't have a pie recipe today, but since Angelina enrolled in Food Preservation for 4-H this year, we tried Rhubarb Sauce.  The first time I ever tried Rhubarb Sauce was at a 4th of July celebration hosted by friends at their farmstead.  The sauce was served over ice cream, creating a perfection of sweet and tangy.  I hope to acquire the recipe used that day, but for now, here is the recipe Angelina and I used to preserve our rhubarb.


Rhubarb Sauce

Ingredients:
1.5 to 2 lbs. rhubarb per quart jar
Sugar

Directions:
Wash the rhubarb stalks and drain. Cut the stalks into 1-inch pieces (we prefer 1/2 inch).  Put rhubarb in a large saucepot.  For each quart rhubarb measured, add 1/2 to 1 cup sugar (we used 1/2 cup to keep the sauce more tart and tangy).  Stir to coat the rhubarb with sugar; let stand 3 to 4 hours in a cool place.  Bring slowly to a boil; boil 30 seconds.  Pack hot rhubarb and syrup into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.  Remove air bubbles.  Adjust seals and screw bands.  Process pints and quarts 15 minutes in a boiling water canner.

Remove jars from the canner and let cool at least 24 hours. 

Mardi Gras King Cupcakes

 

The lemon and nutmeg flavor of these cupcakes reminds me of the King Cake made for last  year’s Mardi Gras.  The cupcakes are quicker and easier for a busy mom, though!

The recipe is at King Arthur Flour…. Mardi Gras King Cupcakes.

 

Amaretto French Toast

 

On our recent vacation with my side of the family, each of the ‘sibling’ families took turns in the kitchen.  My brothers Eric and Doug paired up for a couple breakfasts (Doug’s wife wasn’t able to make the trip - something about being 8 mos. along in her third pregnancy and 12 hours away from her doctor in December/January in Montana where snowstorms are frequent – we missed you, Laura!). 

My brother Eric in the foreground and Doug in the background.

 

Mmmmm … helpers or samplers??

 

Anyway, these two brothers served this AMAZING dish one morning and received rave reviews all around.  Absolutely YUMMY!  Five stars, I’m telling you!!

I made the recipe today just to relish it once more.  I made it with French bread;  my brothers used English Muffin bread.  Both are tasty.

Tip:  If you want more Amaretto flavor, slice the bread thinner.  I grill this on a griddle placed over the burners on my cooktop.  I’ve found that a lower heat works better and prevents burning (if the bread is soaked longer).

 

Amaretto French Toast

Makes about 6 servings or 18

Ingredients
6 eggs
1 1/2 cup half and half
3 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons Amaretto
9 tablespoons butter or margarine
18 slices brioche or egg bread (English Muffin bread and French bread work nicely, too)

Directions
In a shallow dish, whisk together all ingredients. Place bread slices into dish. Let soak for a bit, flip and let other side soak.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of butter. When melted, retrieve slices from egg mixture and add to skillet. Cook 2-3 minutes per side, or until golden brown. Repeat with remaining slices.

Santa Lucia’s Braided Bread

 

Link to the recipe at the Family Fun site is here.  My only change was to add 1/4 tsp. of pure orange extract to the glaze because I thought it wasn’t flavored enough with just orange juice. 

I’d also like to try decreasing the recipe so that it fits in my bread machine.  This does make a huge amount of dough, so half the recipe would be enough for one meal or snack-time for our family.  I suppose if I’d have known ahead of time or actually read through the recipe last week, I could have made two rings and frozen one for later.  This time, we are just enjoying the leftover.

While I’d considered making the bread last week, I wasn’t prepared and it’s just been so hectic.  So, this was a little last minute… didn’t start on the dough until after lunch (I’m just too needed in the school-room until at least lunch/dinner).  It wasn’t baked until about 4pm and I frosted it before it was cooled because I’m just soooo impatient – and it smelled incredibly wonderful.

So, to celebrate the Feast of St. Lucy, we ate this wonderful bread and listened to her story – all because there happened to be a reminder to ‘read a story about the saint for today’ in Zeke’s syllabus.  No dressing up, no candles, no waking up early, just thankful to be reminded of our beautiful faith and trying to live it out in the smallness of our day.

Salmon Quiche

First, I have to admit that this is the first time I, or my family, have tried Salmon Quiche.  My good friend, Sarah G., has offered her Salmon Quiche to me at least twice and I’ve turned up my nose!  Normally, I’m game for trying anything, but Salmon Quiche??  Ewwww!

A little bit of background … my supposed dislike of anything made from canned Salmon (not to be confused with my pleasurable dining experiences with Grilled Salmon) stems from my dislike of Salmon Loaf.  I have at least tried Salmon Loaf, but I just didn’t care for the texture. 

So, why try it now?  First, this recipe has a potato crust, which we all prefer.  Second, it has Chef Emeril’s ESSENCE Creole Seasoning – a little extra kick and a wonderful aroma in the kitchen.  Last but, not least, I had all the ingredients on hand!

Quiche is fairly new to my cooking rotation, but after a great recipe for Ham Quiche I served at Easter a couple years ago, quiche has become a regular entrée on busy nights.  Of course, having a steady supply of eggs makes quiche easy to prepare at the last minute.

This is adapted to the ingredients I had on hand from the original recipe … Smoked Salmon Quiche.
Everyone agreed that this recipe could be added to our rotation and that they would eat it again.  The most enthusiastic was Angelina who went back for seconds!  Eric said it was good, but then he followed up by saying, “but, I’m hungry.”  However, he then cleaned up the remainders from Graham and Angelina (another whole slice was just a bit too much with ice cream dessert on the line).

So, humble apologies to my dear friend Sarah.  I may have to try YOUR Salmon quiche, after all.

Salmon Quiche
Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cups frozen hashbrown potatoes, thawed (I thawed mine in the microwave) 
• 1 tablespoon melted butter, plus 2 tablespoons whole butter
• 1 tablespoon Essence (follow the link above for this recipe) or substitute your favorite creole seasoning
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 cup diced onion
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (didn’t have garlic cloves on hand)
• 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 7 ounces boneless, skinless canned salmon
• 1 tablespoons dill weed
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate.

In a bowl, combine the potatoes, 1 tablespoon of the melted butter, creole seasoning, Parmesan cheese, and toss to combine. 

Dump and press the potato mixture into the prepared pie plate, spreading to evenly cover the bottom and up the sides.

Bake until the potatoes are golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

Reduce the oven to 350 degrees F.

Pour the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter into a small skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onions until clear and softened. Add the garlic powder, mix, and remove from heat.

Place the cream cheese in a large bowl and using a wooden spoon, stir in the onions and lemon juice.

Add the eggs, 1 at a time, stirring just until combined.

Add the cream, salmon, dill, salt, and pepper and mix well.

Pour the cream cheese-salmon mixture into the cooled potato crust and bake for about 60 minutes, until golden and the batter is set.

Cool quiche for 20 minutes before serving. Serve warm or chilled.

Mexican Stewed Tomatoes

 

This is the recipe I’ve used for over 12 years to make Mexican Stewed Tomatoes.  It’s my ‘secret’ ingredient in Taco Soup!

Mexican Stewed Tomatoes (#2)

Yield: 7 quarts

Ingredients:

• 24 cups chopped tomatoes – I prefer Roma because they are meatier and have a great texture
• 5 cups onion, chopped
• 2 1/2 cups celery, chopped
• 2 cups green pepper, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups red pepper, chopped – I have substituted banana or green peppers
• 10 cloves garlic, minced
• 10 Tbls. dried parsley
• 3 1/2 Tbls. cumin
• 8 Tbls. chili powder
• 3 Tbls. oregano
• 4 Tbls. salt
• 4 Tbls. sugar
• 1 1/2 cups white vinegar

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together in a large stock pot – or divide into two large pots.  Bring to simmering and simmer for 20 minutes to blend flavors together.  During this time, prepare the pressure canner, jars, lids, screw bands, etc.  After simmering, ladle hot tomatoes into warm quart jars, leaving 1” head space.  Seal and place in pressure canner.  Process quarts for 20 minutes at 10 lbs. pressure.

  Tomatoes, waiting to ripen or be processed

  This is my tomato ‘set-up’.

  Strainer on the cooktop holds washed tomatoes; boiling water in the pot … tomatoes go into the water for 10 seconds to loosen the skins.

  Then, they are plunged into ice cold water to cool.  I peel and core the tomatoes.  Lucky laying hens get to peck at the skins and cores.

  Cored & skinned tomatoes.  I need this 6 quart container filled with tomatoes.

  Chopped onions, peppers, & garlic.

   Seasonings (some are already mixed into the vegetables.

   After simmering for 20 minutes.

   This is my mom’s All American Stainless Steel Canner – no rubber seals to worry about.  7 quarts go into the canner.  After processing, the canner cools on the stovetop.  It’s cool when I can unscrew the lid.  The jars will be removed to cool on a wood cutting board for 24 hours.  After that time, I label and store in the root cellar.     

* Now, obviously these simplified directions leave out a lot of pressure canning steps … I take for granted that if you are interested in trying this recipe, that you have pressure canned in prior years.  If this is your first go-round, I suggest either purchasing the Ball Blue Book of Pressure Canning or checking out your state’s extension website for complete directions.  Each year before my first pressure canning batch, I re-read the instructions for my canner.  Pressure canning involves attention to detail and you may want to prepare and can your first batch of produce under the supervision of an experienced canner.  However, acquiring experience in this method of canning can be a wonderful way to keep up an age-old tradition and it’s a great way to store excess garden produce.

**This recipe must be canned with a pressure canner because it includes low acid ingredients (celery, onion, peppers, seasonings).  It CANNOT be canned using a water bath process.

Harvest Apple Bake

In my quest to find recipes that use a LOT of eggs, I came across this breakfast dish that is prepared & refrigerated overnight.  I found the recipe online at Iowa Egg Council’s website … www.iowaegg.org … I found a few other recipes to try later on, too.

Harvest Apple Bake

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 8 eggs
• 1 loaf French bread
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup cream
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 Tbls. vanilla
• 1 Tbls. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. nutmeg
• 7 medium sized cooking apples (Granny Smith is one variety)
• 2 Tbls. butter

Directions:

Slice bread into 1 1/2 inch slices.  Place bread tightly together in a 9x13 inch greased pan.  In a bowl, whisk together eggs, 1/2 cup sugar, milk, cream, and vanilla for about 30 seconds.  Pour half of egg mixture over bread.  Peel, core, and slice apples.  Place sliced apples on top of bread to cover and pour the rest of the egg mixture evenly over the apples.  Mix remaining 1/2 cup sugar with cinnamon and nutmeg.  Sprinkle evenly over the top of apples.  Dot with butter.

Cover and refrigerate overnight.  The next day, bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour.  Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes.  Cut into squares and serve warm with syrup and a dot of whipped cream.  YUM!

Cream of Cauliflower Soup

Who would’ve thought my whole crew would like this soup.  I made the soup because the cauliflower needed to be used and we really don’t care for the raw vegetable.  The soup was easy to make and I had all the ingredients on hand. 

Cream of Cauliflower Soup

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbls. butter
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 quarts chicken broth
• 10 oz. frozen cauliflower*
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 Tbls. flour
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Melt butter in a sauce pan, add onion.  Sautee onions until translucent.  Add flour and mix thoroughly.  Add broth and bring to a boil.  Add cauliflower; simmer until tender.

Use a slotted spoon to remove cauliflower from the pot into a blender.  Puree the cauliflower, then add back to the pot.  Mix well.  Add milk, salt & pepper.  Heat to a low simmer, being careful not to boil.

*I used fresh cauliflower.  As the vegetable is simmered in liquid until soft, using fresh meant simmering just a bit longer.

**My own touch was to add a bit of chopped parsley and shredded cheese on top.

 

Copyright © 2010 Leanne Ely, CNC  All rights reserved.

Peach Wow!

 

The Pioneer Woman Cooks cookbook by Ree Drummand has 5 star after 5 star recipe.  I’ve tried over a handful and my family has raved and ahhed over each.  With a couple lugs of peaches in the frig, I made plans to try her Peach Crisp.  It did NOT disappoint.  I recommend you try it today!

Peach Crisp with Maple Cream Sauce